George Lantzy, of Turtle Creek, Pa.; Jesse Lee Seal, of Alma, Ark.; Stephen Page, of Gloucester, Mass.; and Junichi Shimizu, of Gladstone, Ore., were named finalists today, March 5, for the 2009 Goodyear North America Highway Hero award.

Trucking industry journalists vote on the finalists, who will be featured March 25 at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky. The winner will receive a $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond, a plaque and a specially designed ring. The other finalists will receive a $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond and a plaque.

“These four individuals represent the thousands of professional truck drivers who work every day across North America. Each year, this program offers an opportunity for recognition of those who put their lives on the line to help others,” said Joseph Copeland, vice president for commercial tire systems for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

On March 12, 2009, Lantzy, a driver for Fubar Trucking, was driving on Highway 22 near Weirton, W.V., when he noticed a car along the highway shoulder that was slowly drifting into traffic. As he drove closer, he saw an elderly woman slumped over the steering wheel, and the car was headed toward a potential accident on the busy highway.

Lantzy maneuvered his rig in front to allow the car to contact the rear of his trailer, creating an impromptu roadblock and easing the woman’s car away from danger. The driver, who had suffered a heart attack, made a full recovery.

Page, a driver for Pit Bull Trucking, on July 14, 2009, was driving on I-80 near Clearfield, Pa., when he spotted a fire in the woods alongside the roadway. He and another driver ran into the woods to find the burning wreckage of a double-unit rig that had gone nearly 1,500 feet off the highway.