Trucker named Highway Angel for helping heart attack victim

Brian O’LearyBrian O’Leary

Truck driver Brian O’Leary, driver for O’Leary’s Truck Service, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for helping save a man suffering from a heart attack while driving.

On Aug. 3, 2016, O’Leary witnessed a straight truck drift into the median on I-80 near Maxwell, Neb., without any brake lights shining, then saw the truck hit the guardrails and come to a stop in the westbound fast lane.

He called 911 and ran to check on the driver, who didn’t appear to have a pulse. While still talking with the 911 operator, he unbuckled the man and pulled him from the truck onto the ground, then performed CPR for more than four minutes. An EMT and another traveler with a medical background also stopped to help, and the three administered CPR until an ambulance arrived.

After shocking the driver with a defibrillator and getting a pulse, the driver was then transported to a hospital. O’Leary has since spoken with the man and his family and learned that he had a heart attack while driving.

O’Leary has been driving for 44 years and was named TCA’s Company Driver of the Year in 2004. For helping the driver, O’Leary was given a certificate, patch, lapel pin and truck decals. His company also received a certificate acknowledging their driver as a TCA Highway Angel.

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