The Kentucky New Era, Hopkinsville, Ky., reported that Christian County Coronor Dorris Lamb said as many as four truckers are found dead in their vehicles at truck stops in the county each year.
Lamb said most go undiscovered for days.
On May 6, driver John B. Darling, 42, was found dead in his truck at the Pilot Travel Center off Exit 89 in Oak Grove, the second such death this year. Deputy Coroner Mike Stokes said Darling died of natural causes and had been in his truck for two days before anyone found him.
Most of the, Lamb said truckers die of natural causes, but because of the decomposition he can rarely show family members the body.
"At the coroner's office, we can deal with the problem of decomposing bodies. The only thing is that a lot of the time, these people are from out of state and they have family members who are concerned and don't understand why they can't see the body after they've died," he said. "They don't understand the adverse conditions they've been found in."
Lamb said the coroner's office has been trying to come up with a way to get truck stops to check up on the drivers who stay on their property.
"There needs to be some kind of checks and balances," he said. "Honestly, if I were found dead on your property, you're kind of responsible for me. The same thing goes for those truck stops. They've allowed that truck to come in and stay, there has got to be a better check-and-balance system for them."
Don Graham, senior manager for corporate risk at Pilot Travel Centers, said the staff at each truck stop monitors the parking lots and that the incident on May 6 was rare for the company.
"Our parking is free and we don't have any way of knowing if someone is on the lot," he said. "Our managers do walk the lot every shift, and maintenance crews are on the lot continuously. If we do notice a truck there for a long time, we'll check on it."
Graham said the problem with keeping tabs on the drivers is that so many of the trucks look alike. He did, however, say whatever recommendations the coroner's office has, Pilot will take into consideration.
"Anything that can be done to better finding a driver in a more timely manner is certainly in everyone's best interest," he said.