Dozens of trucks pay tribute to fallen tow truck operator

SANDUSKY — Tow truck drivers provided an impressive sendoff for a fellow driver Saturday afternoon and sent an important safety message to the community. "We're all brothers," said one of the drivers in a parade of dozens of trucks paying tribute to Eric Ackerman Jr. 44, Sandusky, a tow truck driver killed late Tuesday night while assisting a motorist on the Ohio Turnpike. "Slow down and move over." Heavy rescue tow trucks in the funeral procession for Eric Ackerman Jr., Saturday, July 25, 2020. More than 100 towing and rescue vehicles participated in the procession. Photo by Bill Theisen When you see lights on the side of a highway, slow down and give them room, said Sheriff Paul Sigsworth, who helped provide traffic control for the parade. "Give them a chance. Please, let them live," Sigsworth said. Ackerman died while trying to help Darren Hebner, 45, Mentor, who was driving when his vehicle became disabled and also died in the accident. Zachary Santoro, 30, Bellevue, drove a pickup and is accused of hitting the two men and their vehicles. Santoro is suspected to have been impaired at the time, the Ohio Highway Patrol said. According to the Patrol, Ackerman was wearing a reflective vest when he was hit near mile marker 132 on the Turnpike at 11:23 p.m. Tuesday, and the tow truck's overhead emergency lights were lit. Ackerman, who attended Sandusky High School, left behind a wife and two daughters and many other relatives. Family members attended private services for Ackerman at Toft Funeral Home on Columbus Avenue. At about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, mourners loaded a coffin covered with an American flag into a hearse, and a funeral procession headed down Columbus Avenue toward the Erie County Fairgrounds. At the fairgrounds, dozens of trucks with flashing lights were gathered in a rally organized by Interstate Towing of Norwalk, Ackerman's employer. Two trucks held up a huge American flag. When a funeral procession arrived, the assembled trucks greeted it with mighty blasts on their air horns. Then, led by trucks from Interstate, they joined the parade that wound through the area and ended up back at Toft Funeral Home. The trucks came from a large area of northern Ohio, not just the Sandusky-Norwalk area, with lettering that explained they were from locations such as Upper Sandusky and Toledo. They were joined by fire trucks from local communities, and public safety officers provided traffic control so the parade could take place. The tragedy hits hard with local law enforcement officers, who also often must pull over on roads and highways and hope motorists driving by are paying attention, Sigsworth said. "There have been a number of these types of tragedies. There don't need to be," Sigsworth said. "Let them live. They're just trying to do their jobs. They want to go home," the sheriff said. Heidi Gentry and Cory Gentry, both of Norwalk, look on as a procession of vehicles passes Toft Funeral Home on Columbus Avenue Saturday afternoon. Bill Theisen An American flag is displayed at the Erie County Fairgrounds Saturday at a rally honoring a fallen two truck driver. Register photo/TOM JACKSON Rows of trucks lined up at the fairgrounds Saturday to honor a tow truck driver and deliver a safety message. Register photo/TOM JACKSON A truck lined up for a funeral parade Saturday delivers a safety message. Register photo/TOM JACKSON