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said (the driver) must have waited until the load was delivered.”
Harrison learned the driver was in his late 50s.
“His sister called me a week later and thanked me for allowing
them to be with him” she said. “It’s been a tough thing to deal with.
I’m glad they had time with him.”
Harrison learned CPR at the age of 11 when she was a Girl Scout,
and has kept her certification current. Harrison began driving in 2002.
“I was taught by old-school knights of the road,” she said. “They
looked out for one another. I wish more drivers would get out and talk
to each other again.”
If you would like to learn how to perform “Hands-Only” CPR, contact
the American Red Cross or your local fire department for classes/
training in your area.
ROBERT KRAVETTE
Robert Kravette of Port St. Lucie,
Florida, who drives for Carroll Fulmer
Logistics Corp. of Groveland,
Florida, is being honored for stopping
to help two teenagers after
they lost control of their vehicle and
rolled into a highway median.
Kravette was headed west on
Interstate 26 near Aiken, South
Carolina, when he saw an SUV in
the eastbound lanes swerve out of
ROBERT KRAVETTE
control and into the grassy median,
where it rolled several times.
“Eastbound traffic had come to a halt pretty fast,” he said. “It appeared
that when the SUV driver reacted and hit the brakes, he swerved and lost
control.”
Kravette pulled to the shoulder and then jumped out and ran across
the highway to help. The SUV was lying on its passenger side.
“It looked really bad,” he recalled. “I was afraid of what I would find.”
Several other motorists had also stopped and rushed over to the SUV.
When Kravette reached the vehicle, he saw two male teenagers inside.
Kravette tried breaking the windshield out, but wasn’t successful.
“We were finally able to get the driver’s door open,” he said.
He and some of the other motorists who had stopped managed to
safely pull the driver and his passenger out of the vehicle.
“Thank God they weren’t seriously injured,” Kravette shared with
TCA.
Once he saw that everything was under control, Kravette left his
contact information and hurried back to his truck.
“There was a lot of traffic building up and I was parked on the side of
the road,” he remembered.
Kravette has been driving an 18-wheeler for six years. Before that, he
drove a straight truck for 15 years.
“I love my job,” he shared. “I love seeing the landscape.”
His dog, Max, is his sidekick.
TIMOTHY SIKES
Timothy Sikes of Melvin, Texas,
was named a Highway Angel for
stopping to help an elderly man
who lost control of his vehicle and
rolled into a ditch.
Sikes was at a truck stop near
Baytown, Texas, early one morning
TIMOTHY SIKES
in April. He had just finished his pre-trip inspection and was taking his
dog, Diesel, for a walk when he heard the sound of screeching tires.
“I looked around and saw a car going off the road,” he said. “It went
into the ditch and rolled.”
Sikes called 911 and rushed over to check on the driver, a man in his
80s. He was trapped in his car.
“He told me he had fallen asleep at the wheel,” recalled Sikes.
Although Sikes wasn’t able to open the door of the damaged vehicle,
he talked with the driver to keep him calm until first responders arrived
just a few minutes later. The driver appeared to have minor injuries.
Sikes now drives for Bay & Bay in Eagan, Minnesota.
DEVEY SOUTH
Devey South, who lives in Carrollton,
Georgia, is being honored
for stopping to rescue a father
and son after another driver sideswiped
their vehicle, causing it to
roll several times.
On June 9, South was westbound
on Interstate 78 near Saucon,
Pennsylvania. It was midafternoon,
and traffic was quite
heavy. He was in the right-hand
lane when a car and SUV approached
on his left.
DEVEY SOUTH
“The car started to fishtail,
swerved, and then sideswiped the
SUV,” he recalled. “It caused the SUV to spin and then flip four times
across the highway.”
The SUV landed on the driver’s side and slammed against the concrete
barrier. South applied his air brakes and pulled over. He then
jumped out and ran across several lanes of traffic.
“The back window was busted out,” South shared with TCA. “I stuck
my head in, but there was smoke or dust, and I couldn’t see anything.”
But then he saw a boy, about 12 years old, lift his head.
“He was cut, and had blood all over his arms,” South recalled, adding
that he told the boy to hang on. He then climbed on top of the SUV.
“The driver’s door was smashed in,” he said. “It took me about 10
minutes to pry the door open.”
The driver, the boy’s father, was conscious and still buckled in his
seat belt.
“He was crying and in pain, but didn’t speak English,” recalled South.
South was able to pull the boy out first. He then used his Swiss
Army knife to cut the driver’s seat belt. At the time, South says he didn’t
know if he was dealing with smoke or dust from the air bags, so he and
another motorist who had stopped decided to pull the driver out and
get him on the ground.
As they waited for first responders, the driver of the other vehicle
got out.
“She was on her cellphone and looked like she was fine,” said South.
“She kept saying she was sorry.”
South says he wasn’t able to find out what triggered the accident. He
waited with the injured driver and his son until first responders arrived
a short time later and took over.
South shared that, although he’s been driving for 20 years, this is
the first time he’s been this close to being involved in an accident.
To nominate a driver or meet additional Highway Angels recipients,
visit highwayangel.org.
TCA JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 WWW.TRUCKLOAD.ORG | TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY 45