24 Truck Drivers Named State Highway Heroes
15 January 1999
24 Truck Drivers Named State Highway HeroesAKRON, Ohio, Jan. 14 -- Everyday, throughout North America, ordinary citizens perform heroic deeds that may not make the evening news and often go unnoticed. It is in the spirit of these hometown heroes that The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company honors their brave, caring and selfless acts of kindness. Twenty-four truck drivers representing 23 states and provinces earned the 1998 Goodyear State Highway Hero Award, Goodyear announced today. Founded by Goodyear in 1983, the National Highway Hero program recognizes professional truck drivers and the oftentimes unnoticed, life-saving rescues and roadside assistance they provide as their jobs take them across the country. Among this year's class of courageous citizens who build their lives on North America's highways are career truckers who not only put the safety and well being of their fellow motorists above their own, but some who actually gave their lives while aiding others in need. This group of everyday people turned State Highway Heroes was selected by an independent agency from a pool of 41 nominees. Capturing state-level honors, this group comprises the initial winners, one of whom will be named the 1998 National Highway Hero. The 24 state winners are: Jerry Mitchell, Demopolis, Ala. -- While driving on I-20 outside of Dallas, Mitchell glanced in his rearview mirror just as the propane tanks on a motor home traveling behind his rig exploded. As flames engulfed the camper, Mitchell and another driver removed two badly burned victims from their fiery trap, moving them out of harm's way while controlling the spreading fire until help arrived. Larry Miller, Tucson, Ariz. -- Making his way through a downpour in Nashville, Tenn., Miller found himself barreling toward an accident scene with no space or time to stop. With three disabled vehicles and their operators in his path, Miller veered his truck to avoid the defenseless victims, sending him into a collision with a concrete barrier. While preventing certain catastrophe, Miller, fortunately, only suffered minor injuries. Lynn Tracey, Chilliwack, British Columbia -- Just after nightfall on June 22 of last year, Tracey happened upon an accident victim who had been thrown from his truck. She cleared the air passages of the badly disfigured and unconscious victim to restore regular breathing. Tracey prevented the motorist from going into shock as she monitored his vital signs until medical help arrived from more than 20 miles away. Paul Ostoich, Cottonwood, Calif. -- Traveling across a bridge on a flooded county road in Red Bluff, Calif., Ostoich passed safely through danger only to find a fellow motorist had not fared as well. He returned to the waist-high floodwaters to rescue the stranded victim as the current, fueled by an erupted dam, threatened to sweep them both away. Ostoich gathered up the hysterical woman only moments before the swift waters carried her car downstream. Gilles Heroux, Maranja, Fla. -- Traveling through Titusville, Fla., on a mail run to Miami, Heroux was the first on the scene of a wrecked tractor trailer that had exploded and flipped over, trapping its driver. Heroux pulled the driver from the fiery wreckage through the truck's smashed windshield. With the help of another motorist, he was able to move the victim to safety before the truck exploded a second time. Kelly Pate, Evansville, Ind. -- Traveling with his wife on a rainy evening near Daytona Beach, Fla., Pate witnessed as a driver ahead lost control of her vehicle, rolling it several times. The driver escaped relatively unharmed, so Pate and two other motorists set about trying to roll the vehicle back onto its wheels. As the four stood on the median, an unwary motorist failed to yield to the stopped traffic, lost control of her vehicle and struck the four people and the wrecked vehicle. Pate died later that evening from his injuries, leaving behind his young bride and 2-year-old daughter. Robert Dunn, Cimarron, Kan. -- Traveling west on I-40 in Eric, Okla., Dunn witnessed as a car veered off the road, rolling several times, throwing out two of its passengers before coming to a stop. While the two thrown from the car -- an adult and an infant child -- were killed instantly, three passengers in the vehicle survived. Dunn and another trucker provided blankets and water for the remaining victims and prevented them from going into shock. James Cullins, Simsboro, La. -- When no one else would stop in the pouring rain to help, Cullins came to the aid of a motorist who was badly injured on the Red River Bridge in Bossier City, La. Having removed the woman from her van, Cullins placed his jacket beneath her, covered her with his uniform shirt and used his T-shirt to dress her wounds. He cleared her air passages to help her breathe and kept her calm until help arrived. Christopher Sackos, Lawrence, Mass. -- On the evening of Dec. 16, 1997, Sackos realized what appeared to be a duffel bag lying near the side of I-495 in Andover, Mass., was actually a barely conscious woman. Sackos turned his rig sideways and slammed on the brakes to put himself between the victim and the oncoming traffic that was certain to hit her. After summoning help on his radio, Sackos used his jacket and a blanket to keep her warm while resting her head on a pillow until help arrived. William Basner II, Harbor Beach, Mich. -- Alerted by another driver that there had been an accident, Basner arrived at the scene to find a wrecked truck on fire with its passengers trapped inside. He extinguished the flames, and with a police officer's help, removed the two passengers. The driver had died on impact. Joseph Rice, St. James, Mo. -- After watching a rig, engulfed in flames, roll over several times, Rice rushed to the scene, breaking through the windshield to get to the trapped driver. He managed to get the half-conscious driver to release the seat belt that held him dangling in the cab of the fiery rig. He pulled the driver to safety only to learn that a second victim was trapped in the tractor's sleeping compartment. Despite efforts by Rice and another motorists, the second victim perished in the flames. Wayne Carpenter, Keene, N.H. -- Carrying a load of cargo through Durham, N.H., Carpenter witnessed a head-on collision between a car and truck in which both vehicles erupted in flames. The driver of the truck and a passenger in the car managed to free themselves from their fiery traps, but the driver of the car was unconscious. Unable to control the quickly spreading fires, Carpenter proceeded to pull the driver from the car and to safety. Despite Carpenter's efforts and risking his own life, the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Allan Ackles, Willseyville, N.Y. -- In the early morning hours of June 28, Ackles was the first on the scene moments after motorist struck a rock cut and sat unconscious in his now burning vehicle. The flames had grown beyond the help of a fire extinguisher when Ackles and another motorist charged the vehicle, removing its victim before it exploded. Jamie Pritchard, Elk Park, N.C. -- Pritchard, carrying his family home down I-81 near Marion, Va., saw a truck bump a smaller car into a guardrail; its cargo -- a mother and four children. Seeing smoke coming from the car's engine, Pritchard left his family sleeping in his rig to assist the victims. Calming them, he checked for injuries and explained to the little girl in the passenger seat that he was going to carry her to the safety of his truck. Lifting her, he glanced over his shoulder in time to see another vehicle heading toward them. Pritchard shoved the child back into the car, but was struck himself and killed instantly. Mitchell Stinson, Fairborn, Ohio -- After investigating what he thought were strange lights off the side of the road, Stinson found a wrecked car engulfed in flames, its driver trapped inside. After crossing a highway, scaling a fence and crossing a creek, he and another motorist pried open the car's window to remove the hysterical driver. Over his shoulder, Stinson carried the rescued victim to safety just before the car exploded. Michael Thatcher, Stillwater, Okla. -- On a cold and windy Dec. 4, 1997, morning, Thatcher happened upon an accident scene that appeared to have no victim. After further examining the scene, he found a young driver, semi- frozen, on the side of the road. He wrapped her in his coat, keeping her warm until the ambulance arrived one hour later. Mark Savarie and Michael Asselin, Markstay, Ontario -- Arriving in their trucks shortly after another rig slammed into a rock cut on Highway 17 in Sudbury, Ontario, Savarie and Asselin set to dousing flames while freeing the driver. Realizing the rig was transporting explosives, Savarie quickly retrieved his first aid kit and tended to the driver's most serious injuries. He then moved his partner's truck out of harm's way, using it to create a barricade to prevent other drivers from approaching too closely to the volatile scene. The rig exploded, destroying Savarie's new truck, which was still parked nearby. Although debris was thrown nearly two miles from the scene, no one was injured in the explosion. Shane Strozinsky, Portland, Ore. -- While waiting at an intersection, Strozinsky noticed an elderly, visually impaired gentleman unknowingly walking into traffic. Having failed to capture the attention of the man with the white cane by blasting his horn, Strozinsky left his vehicle to pull the man out of harm's way. He then helped the gentleman safely reach his destination. Herbert Haagen, Punxsutawney, Pa. -- Making his way home on State Route 36, Haagen came across a car sitting on the side the road, its tail end in flames. Upon putting out the fire, he noticed the driver sprawled across the front seat, his foot planted on the accelerator. Haagen walked the apparently inebriated driver to a safe area to lie down. Michael Shannon, Blacksburg, S.C. -- Just as Shannon was getting back on the road after taking a rest, a car up ahead blew a tire, lost control and was hit by another vehicle. It rolled several times before coming to a rest on its side on the median. After pulling a young lady from the vehicle, Shannon returned to rescue her mother, who sustained life-threatening injuries. He performed emergency medical care on the elderly woman, reportedly saving her life. David Adams, Deer Lodge, Tenn. -- Traveling on I-75, Adams spotted an accident in which one of his fellow drivers had been rear-ended by another truck, the driver of which was in serious condition. When none of the onlookers would offer needed materials to tend to the driver's wounds, Adams used his own T-shirt to apply a tourniquet to stop what could have been fatal blood loss. He remained on the site, keeping the injured driver calm until the paramedics could load him into an ambulance. Cecil Hodges, Garland, Texas -- Crossing a bridge in Thayer, Mo., Hodges' truck was hit by an oncoming pick-up truck. The driver's arm, which was hanging out of the window as they passed each other, was torn nearly completely off. Hodges left his rig to tend to the other driver. Using training he learned as an Eagle Scout, he applied pressure to his shoulder to prevent blood loss and possibly save the injured arm. The young man survived the accident, but did eventually lose his arm. James Rowlett, Sandyville, W.Va. -- Seeing smoke and fire ahead, Rowlett left his rig and raced to an accident scene where a car had been severely rear-ended, leaving the passengers dazed. With the help of two other truckers, Rowlett doused the flames and fought through hot glass and steel to rescue the five passengers trapped in the mangled wreckage. While the five- month-old girl traveling in the back seat managed to survive, her mother was pronounced dead at the scene. Later this month, four finalists will be selected from the pool of State Highway Heroes. The four and their spouses will be Goodyear's guests for an all-expenses-paid trip March 24-28 to Louisville, Ky., where they will be introduced at the Mid-America Trucking Show, and Nashville, Tenn., where the 1998 Goodyear National Highway Hero will be announced on "The Nashville Network's Prime Time Country" television program.