The media may deploy click-bait headlines focused on fiery crashes, but hard-working truckers come to the aid of community members every day.
The women and men who operate heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles are responsible for distributing 72 percent of all food products, consumer goods, and materials. Walk into a local supermarket, and everything working families purchase came via truck. And perhaps the most underreported aspect of truck driving culture revolves around a willingness to act selflessly.
A Manitoba, Canada, a trucker was recently honored after helping an injured driver whose farm truck rolled over. The Truckload Carriers Association recently recognized Navdeep Singh as a Highway Angel for rescuing an injured community member.
On Sept. 28, 2020, Singh was reportedly traveling westbound on Highway 2 near Starbuck, Manitoba. An eastbound farm truck suffered a blowout as it approached. The vehicle veered into a ditch and rolled over, coming to rest on farmland. Singh acted decisively to extricate the fellow trucker from the wreckage and contact emergency services.
“I was afraid that the driver must have gotten hurt really badly and might need help. So, I stopped safely and ran to help. I had to pull off the windshield to reach him, which came off easily,” Singh reportedly said.
Passersby stopped to lend assistance, and they were able to help remove the unconscious driver, who was hanging upside down by one left leg, jammed between the seat and gear lever. Singh and the fellow good Samaritans were relieved when the man was safe and spoke, telling them his name was Bob.
“I think if I was a few seconds late, it could have ended differently,” Singh reportedly said. “He had cuts from the glass as well.”
Tennessee Truck Shields Crash Victim From Harm
After an accident occurred on I-440 near Nashville, a Blountville, Tennessee, truck driver acted quickly to put his rig between oncoming traffic and an injured community member. That’s why the Truckload Carriers Association named Tony Barton a Highway Angel.
Barton, who hauls for FTC Transportation based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, reportedly saw a black BMW SUV fishtailing. The passenger vehicle driver lost control and smashed head-on into a concrete barrier, rolled over, and came to rest wheels down in the middle of the highway. Thinking quickly, Barton parked his rig to protect the driver, called 911, exited his rig, and came to her aid.
“I wanted to block the lane so nobody else could hit her,” Barton reportedly said. “My first instinct in any kind of accident like that is to help do whatever I can for somebody that’s injured — it’s not the worst wreck I’ve seen, but it’s not the smallest either.”
The former volunteer firefighter found the woman conscious and stayed with her until EMTs arrived.
The Truckload Carriers Association awarded both Singh and Barton patches, certificates, lapel pins, and truck decals. Letters of recognition were sent to their respective companies indicating they are Highway Angels. Since the program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage they have displayed while on the job.
Sources:
https://www.highwayangel.org/highway-angel-recipient-tony-barton/
https://www.highwayangel.org/highway-angel-recipient-navdeep-singh/
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