Gary WestA Canadian truck driver has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for rescuing a fellow trucker from a burning cab.
Gary West, of Riverview, New Brunswick, was in a truck stop convenience store in Nichols, New York, when he looked outside to the trucks parked near the fuel island and saw flames from underneath a truck.
He then ran toward the truck and began yelling and beating on the passenger door, as well as the driver’s door of the truck next to it, to get the drivers’ attention. The flames under the truck were quickly becoming a large fire.
The driver of the neighboring truck woke up and saw what was happening and moved his truck, but West wasn’t getting a response from the driver of the burning truck. He could see smoke beginning to fill the cab, so he ran to the driver’s side, banged on the door and tried to rock the cab while trying to get the driver’s attention.
Finally, the driver of the burning truck came out from behind the curtain looking dazed and disoriented. West yelled at him that his truck was on fire and to get out.
“Flames were now coming out from under the hood and lapping at the windshield,” West said. “Somehow we got the door open and I helped him down from the cab.”
Other drivers began moving their trucks away from the burning rig, and West managed to get the man to safety and waited for help.
For his willingness to help, TCA presented West with a certificate, patch, lapel pin and truck decals recognizing him as a Highway Angel. The program is sponsored by EpicVue.
