Seven Drivers Named As TCA's Highway Angels

The Truckload Carriers Association has named seven drivers to its Highway Angels program, earning each of them a certificate, patch, lapel pin, and truck decals. Each of their employers also receives a certificate acknowledging their driver as a Highway Angel.

Seven drivers named as TCA's Highway Angels

I don't know if this would qualify me as a Highway Angel, per se, but I had a similar experience on an icy road into Susanville, California, late one dark and stormy night.

It was on the little stub of Highway 36 that split off to Susanville after coming down from Oregon on 395. I was almost out of hours and needed Susanville for my 10.

About halfway there I came upon a big rig on its side stretched all the way across the highway. I was the first on the scene, and I knew I wasn't going anywhere. The rig's nose was in the snowy ditch on one side of the road, and the back end of the trailer was in the ditch on the other side.

I stopped my rig and jumped out to see if a trucker was in need of help. I found him walking near the cab, and he had a phone to his ear. He waved me off, so I let him finish his call ... probably to 911, or it might have been a personal call.

Pretty soon, CHP showed up, and eventually a tow rig made it out of Susanville.

A few other vehicles, mostly trucks, came up and lined up behind me. But I was at the head of the line waiting for them to clear the truck so we could get on our way.

As I sat in the warmth of my cab watching I could see a tow truck struggling to get around the tail end of the flipped-over big rig. Eventually, he had to give up when his rig got mired down in the snowy muck of the ditch.

Then I saw the tow truck operator walking my way, and the next thing I knew I was agreeing to use my truck to pull him out of the ditch. So he hitched his rig up to my tow hooks with a length of cable and I yanked him out of there.

By then, I was completely out of hours and had some driving to do to get to Susanville. I got the CHP officer to write on the back of his business card a note explaining that I was a good Samaritan and had permission to finish the drive into town to find someplace to stop.

I love telling the story of how I towed a tow truck.

I just met Charles Jasewicz when he was presented his award at our safety meeting.

I didn’t realize two more were from Bison, our parent company

That's a neat memory, Dave! I carry a 25' length of 3/4" chain with two hooks on my own truck for just that reason. So far, I've pulled three other vehicles with it.