David RaglandColorado-based truck operator David Ragland has been named TCA’s Highway Angel of the Year award for his role in helping save two small children from a car crash.
The announcement came March 10 at TCA’s Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla. This year’s award was co-presented by TCA and EpicVue, with the award being dubbed the “EpicAngel.”
Ragland, a driver for Kelle’s Transport Services in Utah, was heading westbound on I-40 in August 2013, when a car in the opposite lane swerved off the road into a treeline.
The car folded in half and then caught fire.
Ragland stopped his truck and heard screams coming from the car.
The two adults in the front seat appeared to not have survived the accident, but the screaming continued.
He went to his truck, grabbed a fire extinguisher and went to fight the flames.
Another man who stoped used a pocket knife to cut through the car to get to the back seat.
They found a baby in a car seat and another child — both alive in the back seat.
Eventually, fire and rescue personnel took over. Tragically, however, both parents and an 8-year-old girl died in the crash.
Ragland’s story was uncovered by his carrier about a year later.
Click here to read more on Ragland’s story from previous Overdrive coverage.
