Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Trucker sought from Monday's fatal wreck

Police and the public should be watching for a truck that caused a fatal wreck on U.S. 14 west of Bunker Hill Road, west of Woodstock, on Monday. They have little to go on.

At about 4:00PM Bret Huffar, 27, of Harvard, was on his way to work at the Woodstock Culver's. A truck, described in today's Northwest Herald article as a "white semitrailer" that was traveling west on U.S. 14 crossed the center line of the two-lane highway, and Huffar apparently drove to his right to avoid a head-on collision. Not an unreasonable action, many would say.

However, his vehicle was reported to have left the roadway, gone into the ditch on the south side of the road, back onto the road and then into the path of a semi that was behind the white truck. Huffar died at the scene.

While the article did not report the names of any witnesses, such as in vehicles behind Huffar, behind the semi involved in the crash, or in-between that semi- and the white truck, there may have been witnesses.

Remember the case in California where a school bus full of children was taken and buried in a field? A witness was hypnotized and, as I recall the story, was able to provide police with six of the seven numbers on the California license plate. That led police to the kidnapper and to the rescue of the children.

I was trained in regression hypnotherapy in 1992-93 by a doctor in Missouri. If you know someone who saw the white truck that did not stop, they should contact the McHenry County Sheriff's Department at 815.338.2144 or McHenry County CrimeStoppers at 800.762.7867.

Even the driver of the truck involved in the crash might recall additional details of the truck in front of him. Perhaps he was closer to it at one of the traffic signals in Woodstock at IL Route 47, Dean Street or South Street.

If Brian Kent, the other driver, will contact me, I'll be glad to work with his attorney and him to attempt to recall details about the other truck.

6 comments:

John Lovaas said...

"...That led police to the kidnapper and to the rescue of the children..."

If you are referring to the 1976 Chowchilla, CA, kidnapping. there is a Time magazine article, dated July 26, 1976, that reads:

"...Around 7:30 the following evening, 24 hours after the empty bus had been found, a startled watchman at a gravel quarry near Livermore, 100 miles northwest of Chowchilla, saw a bedraggled group—all in their underwear—approaching him. The kidnaping victims had been found, and all were well...."

Neither hypnosis, or the police, had anything to do with the kidnap victims freeing themselves from their captors.

As to how police got to kidnappers? It certainly didn't hurt that one of the kidnappers turned himself in to the police.

Time Magazine link: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914378-2,00.html#ixzz0qNNs3D9h

Gus said...

Thanks, John. Chowchilla rings a bell. I think that's the story I remember. Now I'll have to track down why I had heard that hypnosis was involved in some way. I thought it was in finding the kids but not so, according to the TIME story.

OK, so I won't guess any further right now. Thanks for the correction.

Gus said...

From Wikipedia.com: "...(part-time school bus driver Ed) Ray was able to remember the license plate of one van while under hypnosis and this led to the capture of the kidnappers as they attempted to flee to Canada."

John Lovaas said...

From the City of Chowchilla website:

http://www.ci.chowchilla.ca.us/city%20facts/history.htm#1976

"... Investigators dug up the van and learned it apparently had been buried in the quarry in November 1975. The 100-acre Portola Valley estate of the quarry owner, Frederick Nickerson Woods, was searched. Woods’ son, Fred Newhall Woods IV, 24, was missing. Authorities issued an all-points bulletin for young Woods and his two friends, James Schoenfeld, 24 and his brother, Richard Schoenfeld, 22, sons of a wealthy podiatrist. Officials said they discovered a rough draft of a $5 million ransom note on the Woods estate.

On July 23, Richard Schoenfeld, accompanied by his attorney and father, surrendered voluntarily in Oakland and was held in lieu of $1 million bail. On July 29, Woods was captured in Vancouver, British Columbia, and James Schoenfeld was arrested in Menlo Park while reportedly preparing to surrender..."

Notawannabee said...

Are we now going to see you add Soothsayer to your bio? Your never ending repertoire of clairvoyant talents so-to-speak. Maybe we misjudged you Gus. A regular old Shaman right here in Woodstock. Hook up with Marlene Lantz and maybe you could add Haruspice to that list. Might get kind of messy.

See there are PROFESSIONALLY trained hypnotherapists that specifically work with the police in memory enhancement. In fact I too have had some informal exposure assisting witnesses recall details by hypnosis , but I would never be able to rise to the level of being the "Woodstock Oracle." That honor is reserved for you….

Gus said...

See all the new and interesting things you are learning about me, Nota? Just one more reason to vote for me on Nov. 2.

But you are giving me more credit than that is due me. I've long believed that it is better to under-promise and over-deliver.