Truckload Authority - August/September 2018

Philip Keith, the 2018 Owner-Operator of the Year, became a professional truck driver after
he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps and quickly became enthralled with the
excitement of the job.
Owner-operator entrants must substantiate five years of job history as a commercial
truck driver with the last three years as an owner-operator.
An owner-operator may enter on his/her own behalf, be nominated by his/her
spouse, or be nominated by the motor carrier with which he/she has been under a
long-term contract continuously for a period of three years or more.
The top three finalists in each division will be announced in January 2019.
The grand prize winner will be announced during TCA’s 2019 Annual Convention
March 10-13, 2019, at the Wynn in Las Vegas.
For other rules, visit truckload.org.
Highway Angels
The Truckload Carriers Association has named Christina Powell, Jerry Miller
and Danny Martin as Highway Angels for their exemplary courtesy and courage
shown to others while on North America’s highways.
Powell, a professional truck driver with Challenger Motor Freight, Inc., of Cambridge,
Ontario, Canada, and who resides in Baden, Ontario, is being recognized
for her role in helping an elderly couple who had been in an automobile accident.
On January 5, Powell was cleaning out her truck to move to a new one, per
the request of her dispatcher. She moved all her gear and blankets to the back of
her vehicle and headed home after a long shift that had started at 4 a.m. As she
drove down Highway 7/8, she noticed up ahead several cars off to the side of the
road and much commotion. Just then, one passing car hit the side-wall and a huge
puff of snow blasted into the air. Powell pulled over and quickly ran to the scene to
make sure everyone was OK.
She came upon the car with the most damage. The couple was visibly shaken,
and as they were older, she felt the need to tend to them, ensuring they stayed
calm. It was a numbing minus-26-degree evening, so Powell went to her truck
and grabbed blankets to help keep them warm. She then began to direct traffic to
prevent further wrecks. Powell went back and forth between the immobile car and
the road, checking on the couple while diverting vehicles until the police arrived.
When the first officer arrived on the scene, he brought the couple over to Powell’s
vehicle so they could stay warm. Shortly thereafter, paramedics arrived and
decided the couple needed to be taken to the hospital. Abdul, the husband who
Powell tended to, wanted to obtain her name and number, as well as her company
so he could properly thank her.
“I didn’t give them my name. I wasn’t looking for accolades,” Powell said. “Just
happened to be in the right place at the right time to help them out. I’m so glad
they’re OK.”
Miller, a professional truck driver with CFI of Joplin, Missouri, who resides in
North Glenn, Colorado, is being recognized for his role in saving the life of a fellow
driver.
On March 21, after fighting winter weather all morning, Jerry and his wife
Linda were approaching the Hammond, Illinois, city limits and traffic was building
up in the lanes ahead. Jerry switched to the middle lane of the freeway to avoid a
car trying to pass him, but as he did so, he noticed a tractor-trailer swerving in front
of him. The driver then lost full control of the trailer and hit the guard rail, causing
his tandems to burst off the trailer. The truck spun and flipped over, slamming the
driver’s side down onto the freeway.
“The way his cab hit the ground, well, I knew the driver was in trouble,” Jerry
Miller said. He carefully pulled behind the overturned tractor-trailer and put on
his flashers, alerting other motorists to slow down. As Jerry got out of his truck
and approached the cab, he noticed it was leaking diesel fuel so he began to stop
traffic.
He then knocked on the cab door and tried to pull it open, but it was jammed
shut. He went around to the passenger side where he found the footsteps to the
cab had fallen off in the wreck, so he pulled himself into the cab and attempted to
wake up the unconscious driver. Jerry managed to get the driver’s seatbelt off him
and began to drag him out of the cab, when suddenly the driver side fuel tank exploded.
The explosion caused the driver to regain consciousness and Jerry walked
him over to his own semi, parked about 70 feet behind the accident. Just as Jerry
began asking the driver questions, the second fuel tank exploded.
“There are a lot of people that are by themselves when they get into an accident.
There are people that just won’t take time to get involved. But that’s not us.
We stop. It’s just what we do,” Jerry Miller said.
Martin, a professional truck driver with ABF Freight System of Fort Smith, Arkansas,
who also resides in Fort Smith, is being recognized for his role in helping a
deputy subdue a man who was attempting to flee the scene.
On October 18, 2017, Martin was driving south on Highway 49 when he exited
to a side road to make a delivery. As he pulled off the frontage road, he noticed a
Simpson County Sheriff’s Department Deputy arguing with a man who was leaning
over a police car. The deputy was an older gentleman and Martin knew he would
need some help as the situation escalated. Martin called out, “Look man, just do
what he tells you to do and no one will get hurt.” Finally, just as the deputy was
able to put one cuff around the man’s arm the fugitive pushed the deputy away and
tried to run. Acting swiftly, Martin stepped in and helped to wrestle the man to the
ground. The man began to drag the deputy along with the handcuffs, and they all
continued wrestling for several minutes.
Soon, a city truck arrived with a jail trustee in the back. The trustee hopped
out of the truck and yelled at the assailant to get down on the ground. Martin
grabbed the handcuffs and was quickly able to cuff both the man’s wrists. Without
hesitation the men placed the man into the police car, and Martin was finally able
to breathe for a moment before giving his statement as other police arrived. Martin
CHRISTINA POWELL JERRY MILLER DANNY MARTIN
TCA 2018 www.Truckload.org | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 43