Amy Christine Halford, 34, of Jonesboro, a chip truck driver for RCA trucking, died on Tuesday, November 22, when the truck she was driving failed to make a turn and overturned near the intersection of State Highways 34 and 1236 north of Winnfield in Winn Parish, Louisiana.

She was pinned inside the overturned truck cab, and died when the vehicle caught fire. There was no other vehicle involved.

Funeral services were held Sunday, December 27 under direction of Edmonds Funeral Home of Jonesboro, with burial at Walnut Ridge Cemtery near Quitman.

Ms. Halford is survived by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Morrow of Hodge; three sisters, Angela Kujawa of Ruston, Tammy Harrell of Jonesboro, and Michelle Layfield of Weston; one brother, Michael Morrow of Hodge; several nieces and nephews, and special friend Clyde Thompson. She was preceded in death by a sister, April Morrow.

By an ironic coincidence the following personality feature story detailing Ms. Halford's truck driving career was submitted for publication in The Piney Woods Journal about one week prior to her fatal accident. The Journal publishes the following story with regret for her unfortunate accident, and in acknowledgment of her service in the trucking industry.

She's 5 feet tall and 98 pounds of grit and heart ready to take on whatever comes her way. Amy Halford of Jonesboro, Louisiana has been doing just that for the last ten years, driving an 18-wheeler cross-country and now on local routes week after week.

"I grew up around truck drivers," Amy said.  Her father drove a big truck and then her mother also took up truck driving. Amy attended Diesel Driving Academy in Shreveport to learn to drive.

"I can drive anything from eight gears to eighteen," she said. No one doubts her ability.

"My mom drove refrigerated trucks across county," Amy said.  "Sometimes we'd team drive."

But Amy is her own person and she likes her freedom.  Driving her own truck was a natural progression for her.

"I drove through all 48 lower states in six months time," she said.  Her first route was from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Trenton, New Jersey and then on to Los Angeles.  Was she intimidated by the traffic in Los Angeles the first time she took a big rig downtown?

"Anybody who drives a truck for the first time in Los Angeles is intimidated," Amy admits.  "But I got used to it quickly."

She readily admits to bumping into things, hitting rails and backing into loading ramps.

"Everybody's going to do that," she said.  "You just keep going."

In fact, on August 15, 2000, she took a turn onto an interstate just a little too quickly.

"When I felt the wheels leave the ground, I just hung on to the steering wheel and rode it out," she said.  She laid the big rig on its side, driver side down.  Little as she is, she climbed up the truck and came out the passenger side door, safe and sound.

One incident she has never forgotten and it affects her even to this day.

Amy was driving across Maine and a blizzard hit. She was stuck at a tiny truck stop for three weeks with nothing but a Baskin Robins and a McDonald's restaurant. To this day she will not eat at a McDonald's. That experience made her decide to begin running regional areas only. At that time, she would drive three months and come home for a few days then hit the road again.

Amy had always been the tomboy of the family--and there are twelve counting half brothers and sisters.  But her heart belongs to her nieces and nephews so she decided to get a job where she could see them every day.  She didn't want to miss seeing them grow up.

Roger Alexander at RCA hired her in Jonesboro.  He told her he'd never even considered hiring a woman before. It wasn't long before he realized Amy could take care of herself. She makes good money--more than most women make at their jobs and she loves her freedom.

"In that truck, as long as I'm doing my job, I like my own boss," she said.  "I get my job done and nobody hassles me."

Today her trips vary from trips to Joyce to Campti or Winnsboro.  She mostly hauls chips to other mills.

"A lot of women are afraid they can't drive these big trucks but if they can drive a standard car, they can do it," she said.  "Don't let the big truck intimidate you."

And you have to stand your ground, she said. "Don't let someone else tell you how to live your life."

"I wouldn't do anything else in the world but drive trucks," Amy said.  "There's nothing difficult about it. I just love my work."

Will she ever go back onto the cross-country route?  She doesn't leave the idea out of the question but right now she's perfectly content to work for the company, make her short runs and come home every night to her beloved nieces and nephews.

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