090123_TT_AllPages

Thetrucker.com SEPTEMBER 2023 • 29
FEATURES
Shattering stereotypes
Hazmat hauler Liana Castro never takes the easy way out
DWAIN HEBDA | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Liana Castro heard the word “can’t” a lot growing up, as in “You can’t be a truck driver.”
She also heard “aren’t” a fair amount, specifically, “Women aren’t supposed to be in the tucking
business.” And, every so often, a “won’t” would bubble to the surface, like, “You won’t be
successful competing with men.”
Even so, Castro discovered a love of trucking at a young age.
“I’d see trucks rolling down the highway as a kid and I always thought they were just big and
cool,” she said. “But it was always looked down upon in my family because that was a guy’s job.
That’s how it was viewed. When I did mention having an interest in it, it was like, ‘Whoa, you
can’t do that! That’s only for men. You can’t be in a male-dominated industry. Would you even
like those things?’ That kind of deterred me for a bit.”
These statements presented challenges that Castro was determined to overcome. She
worked up the nerve to dive into driver’s school, over the disapproval of her family. And while
CDL training WAS as tough as they said it would be in some respects, she stuck with it.
“I was completely out of my element. Honestly, the first day of truck school, I wanted to quit”
she recalled. But she did not quit.
Today, the only negative terms the California-born driver, who now drives for LGT Transport,
retains from her younger days are “didn’t” and “isn’t” — as in, she didn’t listen to her naysayers
then and she isn’t about to start now.
“I tell people all the time, ‘Keep applying yourself,’” Castro said. “No matter what you get in
life, you have to stick with it.”
Castro applied this dogged determination to overcome the many challenges that faced her
early on in her career. With each job she held, she learned a little more about what her strengths
were in trucking and what type of driving best suited her life and personality. By the time she
got to LGT, Castro had a strong sense of self, as well as a clear vision of what she wanted to
accomplish in her career.
“I’ve been with LGT about five and a half years, and a cryogenics hazmat tanker driver for
about six years,” she said. “I just find it interesting and, I guess, the danger of hazmat is part of
that. It’s challenging to you as a driver and it’s a completely different ballgame than anything
else.
“It’s always challenging,” she continued. “There are always new things that come up. It never
stops. It always keeps you on your toes. I like that.”
At age 33, Castro finds herself at the top of her game. Typically hauling throughout the
See Shattering on PAGE 30
Courtesy: Liana Castro
Liana Castro, a driver for LGT Transport, was named Women In Trucking’s July 2023 Member of the Month.
Driver honored as Highway Angel for helping rescue children from traffickers
iStock Photo
The Truckload Carriers Association has named a trucker who helped
rescue a group of children from human traffickers as a Highway Angel.
THE TRUCKER NEWS STAFF
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The latest Highway Angel recognized by
the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is honored for helping
authorities rescue children from human traffickers.
It was the middle of the night, about 1 a.m., to be more precise,
on June 18, 2023, and Michael, a truck driver whose full name has
been withheld for safety, was parked at a dark rest stop, catching
up on his rest.
A white pickup truck, which had what appeared to be a cage for
large animals, covered with a tarp, in the back, pulled up in front
of him. A man and a woman got out of the truck, and the woman
walked around to the back.
“She raises the tarp, and there’s a padlock on this cage,” Michael
said. “She takes the padlock off and opens (the cage), and out come
three or four little girls. They didn’t pull all the kids out (of the
cage); they put the lock back on and they forced the (girls) into the
restroom.”
The girls who were taken from the cage appeared to be about 3
or 4 years old, Michael said. When the adults and girls returned to
the truck, the children were forced back into the cage, which was
then locked and re-covered.
Worried, Michael called the police. In addition, he was able to
quietly exit his truck in the dark and walk around to make a note
of the pickup’s license plate. However, he says, the man and woman
must have noticed him, because they quickly started the engine and
left the rest area.
Michael followed.
“They got about 2 or 3 miles ahead of me, but I was on the phone
with the dispatcher,” he said. “Next thing you know, the police pulled
them over. Cops came out of everywhere.”
Michael pulled over at the scene, out of the way, and waited
until the police were ready to take his statement about the events.
He was horrified to hear, “This kind of thing happens all the time.”
“In the cage, there were hammocks with kids draped across
the top, and the entire bottom of the cage was filled with children,”
Michael said.
Several of the children had been reported missing. Michael was
told by the police that, for his own protection, he should leave the
scene, in case someone else affiliated with the human traffickers
was watching.
As the father of two young children — one of them a girl —
Michael was emotionally distraught after the nightmarish discovery.
“It’s really scary,” he said.
TCA’s Highway Angels program, founded in 1997, has
recognized nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers for displaying
exemplary courage, kindness and courtesy while on the job. For
information about the program or to nominate a deserving trucker,
visit highwayangel.org. 8