Some dramatic testimony this morning at the trial of a logging truck driver charged with the deaths of two people after a tragic 2004 accident on the upper levels highway.A witness says he was driving about 200-metres behind a pair of speeding logging trucks when one of them lost its load on a sharp curve, sending 19 huge logs into oncoming traffic.

The witness says he was travelling at the same speed as the trucks - about 90 km/h in an 80-zone.

He recalls hearing a crash and seeing smoke.

He then tried to help an injured, trapped woman by smashing in her window and turning off her car.

The truck driver, Perry Pelletier, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of dangerous driving causing death.

Most of us - even dyed-in-the-wool truck guys - would think that Dodge’s latest take on semi-truck styling imbues the Ram with sufficient big-rig credibility (especially when equipped with the Cummins diesel). Greg Severt apparently does not, and that’s probably because his day job involves playing with the real thing. So he did what seemed right, removing the cab and bed from a 2005 Ram 3500 and replacing it with sheetmetal from a 1994 Peterbilt. Rounding out the conversion is a bed from a ‘53 Chevrolet pickup, with a set of Peterbuilt front fenders replacing the original stepside quarter panels.

The stock Cummins engine remains intact, and resides under the forward-tilting hood. That particular feature required shortening the front frame rails by two inches - a move that had to be rather nerve-racking on a brand new pickup. The look is rounded out by a set of 40″ tall Mickey Ts on some 20″ Weld Racing wheels, with a mild lift providing the required clearance.

Interestingly enough, the conversion actually resulted in a weight reduction, as the cab and hood are aluminum (weight being very important in the Heavy Truck industry, where every pound of truck is one less pound of cargo).

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