Life seems to be good for Bob Skelding.
In his most recent web update, the cross-country traveler wrote he was “working on a job in Nebraska for a few weeks while the horses get fat in La Garita, CO.” He expected to be “slapping some iron on the lads” feet and sharing a few adventures with them, and you” by late May.
Two and a half years ago, it seemed certain Skelding, then 49, would retire his team of horses and his travels aboard a horse-drawn, handmade wagon.
While traveling near the Noxubee-Kemper County line on Highway 45 South in February 2009, Skelding was hit by a T.K. Stanley tanker truck.
The wreck left two of his four horses dead, his wagon in pieces scattered across the highway and Skelding in a Meridian hospital for 17 days. Prior to then, Skelding, of Deerfield, N.H., had traveled more than 1,700 miles through nine states over the course of five months.
Last week, a jury awarded Skelding $477,444 for the accident. Skelding filed suit against T.K. Stanley in south Mississippi U.S. District Court in April 2010.
After the accident, locally, Skelding got an outpouring of support, and an aid fund was established at the Macon branch of Citizens National Bank.
Many also questioned whether or not the horses should have been on the highway. But according to court documents, Skelding”s vehicle was appropriately marked for travel along Mississippi highways and was adhering to the rules of the road.
According to the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, the wagon was traveling about 5 mph,, and the truck was traveling about 65-70 mph, when the wreck occurred. Skelding was traveling in the right traffic lane, since there was no paved shoulder.
Apparently, two 18-wheelers were side-by-side when they crested a hill, and the driver of the T.K. Stanley truck was unable to move avoid the wagon.
Prior to his trip, Skelding worked as an electrical maintenance instructor at a nuclear power plant in New Hampshire. In 2008, he decided to build his own RV, which included a bed, shower, small kitchen and other amenities and began a southward journey.
Four months after the wreck, Skelding was ready to re-embark on his cross-country journey, planning to make a 150-mile trip from Bentonville, Ill. to Odon, Ill. He purchased a new wagon from fellow adventurer Bernie Harberts of North Carolina, for a biscuit from Bojangles Famous Chicken and Biscuits.
“He just had it sitting in a barn when he heard about my accident,” Skelding said in June of 2009. “So he sold it to me for the reasonable price of one biscuit from Bojangles (restaurant). At least it was a good biscuit.”
Skelding has since made trips throughout Indian and Michigan, traveling 1,100 miles, and from Indiana to Colorado, 3,200 miles, according to his website.
To follow Skelding”s adventures, visit www.wagonteamster.com.
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