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HIGHWAY ANGELS<br />
PRESENTING SPONSOR:<br />
SUPPORTING SPONSOR:<br />
Professional truck drivers Addis Tekelu and Jesse Davis have been<br />
named Highway Angels by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) for<br />
their acts of heroism while on the road.<br />
For their willingness to assist fellow drivers as motorists, TCA has<br />
presented each Highway Angel with a certificate, a patch, a lapel pin,<br />
and truck decals. Their employers have also received a certificate acknowledging<br />
their driver as a Highway Angel.<br />
Special thanks to the program’s Presenting Sponsor EpicVue,<br />
and Supporting Sponsor DriverFacts.<br />
ADDIS TEKELU<br />
Addis Tekelu, who lives in New Braunfels, Texas, and drives for CKJ<br />
Transport based in McKinney, Texas, is being honored for stopping to<br />
rescue a woman after she suffered a medical emergency and veered off<br />
the road and into a wooded area.<br />
Tekelu was traveling southbound on<br />
U.S. 59 on the afternoon of May 18, several<br />
miles south of Diboll, Texas, when he saw a<br />
pickup truck ahead of him move to the right<br />
shoulder. A moment later, the vehicle drove<br />
off the roadway, instantly disappearing into<br />
a thicket of trees. Appalled, Tekelu stopped<br />
and ran back to where the driver had gone<br />
off the road.<br />
“I called 911 right away and asked the<br />
dispatcher to guide me on what to do,” he<br />
shared with TCA.<br />
ADDIS TEKELU & FAMILY<br />
The vehicle was not visible from the road. Tekelu followed the vehicle’s<br />
tire tracks and made his way into the wooded area, where he<br />
found the pickup, covered in brush and branches.<br />
“I saw a woman trapped in the vehicle, with lacerations to her head,”<br />
he recalled. He quickly began removing debris to get to the driver. “The<br />
windshield was shattered, and the driver’s side was smashed in.”<br />
Tekelu couldn’t open the driver’s door, but he continued working and<br />
cleared enough debris away from the rear door to open it. He climbed<br />
inside to check on the driver.<br />
“I asked if she could move, but she was in shock,” he said. “I kept<br />
talking to her, and she asked me to call her husband. Then I asked her if<br />
I could pray for her and she said yes and we prayed together.”<br />
Tekelu stayed with the driver until first responders arrived. He was<br />
amazed that the driver was able to walk on her own.<br />
“I’m glad she was safe, and I was happy I could help,” he said.<br />
The police report stated that the driver, who was in her 60s, had<br />
experienced a medical emergency that made her feel faint.<br />
“It’s hard to believe that poor woman was able to get out of there<br />
safely,” added Tekelu.<br />
He has been driving for 10 years.<br />
“I am originally from Ethiopia,” he shared with TCA. “I’ve seen a lot<br />
in my life. In 1984-85 we were in a big civil war. Lots of people were<br />
starving. I’m one of those kids who survived. I learned to be kind and<br />
to love. Love doesn’t have any color, no boundaries,” he said. “This is a<br />
great nation to give me an opportunity to enjoy the American dream. I<br />
know God will protect me and wants me to serve Him. One of the things<br />
is to love people and to be kind. We need to do the right thing out there,<br />
especially truckers. We are the backbone of this country.”<br />
JESSE DAVIS<br />
Jesse Davis, who lives in Lakeland, Florida, is being honored for stopping<br />
to help an elderly driver after he crashed into a guardrail on the highway.<br />
It was early afternoon. Davis, who drives<br />
for Melton Truck Lines of Tulsa, Oklahoma,<br />
was finishing up his day as he merged onto<br />
U.S. 169 from Interstate 244 near Tulsa.<br />
When he checked his mirrors, he saw a car<br />
crash into the guardrail just behind him.<br />
“He came around the curve a little too<br />
fast,” Davis shared with TCA. “He lost control<br />
and slammed into the guardrail head-on.”<br />
Without hesitation, Davis pulled to the<br />
shoulder and ran back. The driver appeared<br />
to be in his 80s.<br />
JESSE DAVIS<br />
“He was dazed, but okay,” said Davis. “He told me he knew he was going<br />
a little too fast for the curve and misjudged the ramp a bit.”<br />
Since the vehicle was blocking traffic from merging onto the highway,<br />
Davis directed the driver to move the vehicle off to the side as Davis held<br />
traffic back. Another vehicle stopped to offer help and told Davis they would<br />
call 911 while he tended to the driver.<br />
“My focus was on him and getting him out of harm’s way,” recalled<br />
Davis. He then waited with the driver until the Highway Patrol arrived. The<br />
driver told Davis he lived just north of Tulsa. Davis said the skills he learned<br />
as a volunteer fireman, particularly emergency rescue techniques, have<br />
helped him a number of times.<br />
“It comes in handy out here,” he shared. “There are some places where<br />
the response time can be pretty long. I’ve seen rollovers and fatality accidents,<br />
and helped with a lot of them.”<br />
Davis has spent 42 years behind the wheel of a truck and says he’s<br />
enjoyed every minute of it.<br />
“My uncle took me on my first ride when I was 12,” he said with a smile.<br />
“It was my dream (to drive), and I’m living it.”<br />
To view dashcam footage from the accident, visit truckload.org/You<br />
Tube. To nominate a driver or to meet additional Highway Angels recipients,<br />
visit highwayangel.org.<br />
TCA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 WWW.TRUCKLOAD.ORG | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 45