John GubaciGeorgia-based truck driver John Gubaci has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for stopping and assisting a stranded motorist whose vehicle caught fire.
Gubaci, a driver for ABF Freight, was driving near Dalton, Georgia, in May 2018 when he saw blue smoke up ahead, indicating a car fire. As he approached the scene, he saw a car pulled over on the side of the road with a woman standing on the shoulder.
Flames were coming from underneath the hood of the car, so Gubaci pulled over to the shoulder, grabbed his fire extinguisher and rushed over to put out the fire, which was between the motor and the firewall.
“It was flaming pretty good by the time I arrived,” Gubaci said. “As I worked on the fire, the woman called 911.”
The woman told Gubaci she had been driving along and heard a pop and pulled over, then her car caught fire. Gubaci assumes it was an oil fire.
For his willingness to stop and help, TCA awarded Gubaci with a certificate, patch, lapel pin and truck decals. ABF Freight also received a certificate acknowledging their driver as a Highway Angel. EpicVue sponsors the Highway Angel program.
