The driver of a semi-trailer truck that was delivering cigarettes to a service station was released eight hours after the truck was hijacked, authorities said.
The truck had just arrived at a Speedway service station Monday when the hijacker ordered a passenger in the truck out and climbed into the cab with the driver. The truck, which authorities say was 90 percent full of cigarettes, was last seen westbound on a street near the gasoline station with the driver still behind the wheel. The driver of the truck, Thomas Fleming, 24, of Chicago, was released by the hijacker in Joliet, where he asked an area resident to contact police, according to Downers Grove Deputy Chief Jim Black. Fleming was treated at St. Joseph Hospital in Joliet for minor injuries and released. Investigators will question Fleming on Tuesday to determine what happened between the time the truck was commandeered and the driver freed, Black said. The truck is owned by Eby-Brown, a Naperville-based tobacco and candy distributor, according to authorities. (AP) ______ Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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