Celebrating Driver Heroes - Copy

Hero Drivers Routinely Go the Extra Mile

The term “hero” gets tossed around a lot. And in the process, the word loses a lot of its meaning. To do something that is considered heroic, a person performs a courageous act that many others would never attempt. Almost as if it’s an ingrained trait, people who perform a heroic act never think twice about what they are about to do. They simply just do it.

Truckers from all across the United States brave the road every day to take on the elements, man-made obstacles, traffic and also put their lives on hold for long stretches to earn a living. While this in of itself is a dangerous lifestyle, many of these men and women have found themselves going beyond the daily journey and became true driver heroes.

Faced with impending danger and no guarantee of their own safety, these driver heroes still sprang into action to help a person they have never met.

I-20 Savior

After their car ran off the road, a mother realized that her daughter was not responsive. She ran into the road desperate to find help. The only person who stopped was Dave Nelson.

The big trucker moved the mother to safety and checked on the daughter, who had no pulse. He was able to pull her from the vehicle and administered CPR until the paramedics arrived.

Once the ambulance was able to take the mother and daughter, Nelson stepped aside and simply headed back on his route.

Thanks to Nelson’s efforts, the daughter survived. And these days, the daughter and mother still reach out to the man they still affectionately refer to as “Trucker Dave.”

Driver Takes Down Abductor

A young girl was playing in the backyard when a man parked in his vehicle approached the house and attempted to abduct her. The parents were only a few feet away, but the abductor had no reservations for his daring attempt.

When he made his move toward the backyard, a tow truck driver name Marcus Dennis, who had just looped around the block, heard someone say something wasn’t right. Dennis had no idea what the man’s intentions were or if he was armed, but jumped out of his truck without a second thought.

Dennis quickly got out of his truck and leapt into action. He grabbed the assailant and pinned him to the ground, holding the would-be abductor on the ground until the police could arrive.

Highway Heart Attack

A truck driver was driving his 48-foot trailer down the highway when he saw a woman slumped over her steering wheel. George Lantzy only had a few seconds to react, so he drove ahead in front of the out of control vehicle and allowed it to crash into the back of his truck.

Once the truck was able to stop the momentum of the woman’s car, he noticed there was a more serious issue at hand. The woman was unconscious after suffering a heart attack. Lantzy said he didn’t believe she was going to make it, but the woman survived, and underwent a procedure to help her blood flow to heart.

Lantzy described the whole situation as “just something he had to do.”

Tow Truck Tragedy

Not all of these stories have a happy ending.

After a woman’s car blew out on the highway, she did what anyone would do and phoned for help. It was around rush hour and an 18-year-old tow truck driver named Blake Gresham quickly arrived to offer assistance. He parked along the foggy road in front of her vehicle in order to load it onto his flatbed.

After the chains had been tightened and the vehicle was loaded, he made his way back to the driver’s side door of his tow truck. The woman heard the loud noise of the truck being smashed into and turned to see debris flying.

The other trucker didn’t have enough time to react. Gresham died instantly.

The towing community immediately offered their condolences for the young man, and he was lauded as a hero by the woman he came to rescue.

These are just a few of the many stories of driver heroes that people pass by on their way to work every day. Truck drivers put themselves in harm’s way and still routinely do so just to keep their community safe. While they aren’t celebrated as such, these valiant men and women still are heroes to everyone they come into contact with on a daily basis.