Fact Check

Large Weird Truck Convoy?

Video shows an unexplained 'large weird truck convoy' in Virginia.

Published Oct. 27, 2014

Claim:

Claim:   A mysterious "large weird truck convoy" in Virginia remains unexplained.


MIXTURE:






TRUE: Video shows a large convoy of tractor trailers in Virginia.
 
FALSE: No one knows why the convoy occurred.


Examples:   [Collected via e-mail, October 2014]


I saw the following post on Facebook today with the caption 'ALERT: Virginia Highway Completely Closed for Mysterious Convoy. I'm wondering if there's any truth to it.



 

Origins:   On 25 October 2014, a Facebook

user posted video of a large truck convoy spotted in Virginia involving dozens of tractor trailer trucks. The clip depicted several semis traveling on Virginia's Interstate 64 under what appeared to be State Trooper escort.

The unusual sighting and temporary interstate shutdown caused widespread speculation on social media sites as to what could possibly have been afoot. The most widely circulated clip of the large truck "parade" captured several branded trailers as they passed, including Coca-Cola and Walmart vehicles, further confusing the convoy's witnesses as to why the trucks might require a police escort.

One user's comments echoed concerns repeatedly expressed as the truck convoy video circulated on sites like Facebook:



I can tell you one thing. These trucks are transporting more than you think ? It's all starting. Some will know what I'm talking about and other's will just keep believing what FOX news tells them and vote for the candidate who lies the best ! We are SOOO screwed !

Well, we who are paying attention, know something big is going to happen for sure and really soon ! So many things and all of them are so close together........ I see a dictatorship being announced, military hitting the streets, jets overhead, forced Ebola/flu immunizations (rather true or not) Martial Law, food/water shortages, etc....... We'll see ?


Many people worried the event was a covert maneuver to transport supplies, hide medical equipment, or engage in otherwise suspicious activity — fears that particularly loomed large due to the then-current concern over Ebola.

However, the convoy's purpose wasn't hard to discover with a small amount of digging:



The truck convoy is a unique one-day celebration where police escort a convoy of trucks through cities and towns in 38 states and Canada. The event helps raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics athletes. About 110 vehicles participated in the ride.

In 2013, over $20,000 was raised with 49 trucks participating in Virginia's nearly 50-mile round-trip convoy along Interstate 95 from Caroline County to Henrico County, according to a press release sent by Virginia State police.


The footage from Virginia was taken during a leg of the Special Olympics' World's Largest Truck Convoy, described thusly on the organization's website:



Inspired by the powerful impact Special Olympics had on his life through his participation in the Law Enforcement Torch Run, combined with his family's involvement with the trucking industry, Norm Schneiderhan, a Corporal with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, created the Truck Convoy, a one-daycelebration of the trucking industry to help raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics.

Although some drivers in Virginia were confused and alarmed by the truck convoy on 25 October 2014, local news stations covered and explained the event on their pages. The purpose of the convoy was not immediately obvious to bystanders, but an explanation was not difficult to find after the fact.

Last updated:   16 July 2015


Sources:




    Rose, Rashard.   "What's With the Large Truck Convoy Backing Up Traffic in Richmond?"

    WTVR [Richmond].   26 October 2014.


David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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