KANWAHA COUNTY, W.Va. –The dog rescued last week after a tractor-trailer crash on Interstate 64 that killed the driver has been reunited with her family.
Hennessey was reunited with her family Monday, one week after the June 23 crash.
She was riding in the cab of the tractor-trailer with her owner, Jeffrey Simons, 62, of Wellsburg, Iowa, when he lost control of the rig while traveling west on Interstate 64 on the South Charleston-Dunbar Bridge.
She was pulled from the cab by people who stopped to help after the crash.
South Charleston police then took her to the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association.
Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association spokesperson Angie Gillenwater said Friday on 580 Live with Dave Allen that it is difficult to imagine what Hennessey was experiencing after the crash.
“I was thinking this is a dog that has quite literally spent every second, of every day, of every year with this person and the accident alone would have be enough to shake anybody up, but knowing something is wrong with her person thrown into that mix I cannot image how confused and scared she was,” Gillenwater said.
Staff at the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association photographed Hennessey and posted the image on the organization’s Facebook page in an effort to locate her family.
A day after the crash, Hennessey’s family was identified and contacted.
Gillenwater said she is grateful to everyone who helped reunite Hennessey with her family.
“We have received an outpouring of support as well as the other shelter in Iowa, all of us have received an outpouring of support to get Hennessey home, so thank you all for wanting to spend your time, your gas, your wear and tear on your vehicle to get this dog back home,” she said.