Joseph WilburFort Smith, Arkansas-based truck driver Joseph Wilbur has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for helping at the scene of a wrong-way driver accident.
Wilbur was driving northbound on I-95 near New Haven, Connecticut, hauling for ABF Freight when he suddenly saw taillights on the southbound side of the interstate, signaling to him there was a wrong-way driver. He immediately called 911 and was able to keep pace with the wrong-way driver, calling out milemarkers and exits to the police dispatcher as he went.
Traffic was light, and southbound drivers were doing their best to avoid a collision until one car didn’t have enough time to move out of the way. The wrong-way car hit the other vehicle head-on, spinning it off to the side as the wrong-way driver’s car rolled multiple times right next to Wilbur’s truck, landing on its roof.
Wilbur pulled to the shoulder and jumped the barrier and saw an EMT approaching. He helped the EMT pull back the driver’s door, where they found the driver unconscious and hanging upside down, tangled in his seat belt. The EMT handed Wilbur sterile gloves, and Wilbur crawled into the car to life the pressure off the seat belt so it could be cut. They then slid the driver out as he regained consciousness.
Other responders assisted the other vehicle while Wilber waited on until more EMTs could take over.
For his willingness to help, TCA presented Wilbur 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 TCA Highway Angel program.
