On the morning of August 19, 2012, truck driver Marvin Garvey of Hampstead, N.C., was driving in heavy traffic along I-85/I-40 near Greensboro, N.C.
Up ahead, Garvey heard horns honking and saw cars swerving. As he made his way up the road, he saw a stalled car with a woman sitting inside crying hysterically because her car had stalled and would not turn back on.
Instead of stopping to help the woman, the motorists were blaring their horns at the woman as they drove by.
“After passing her, Garvey pulled over, walked back to the scene, and pushed the woman’s vehicle onto the shoulder. He then calmed her down, telling her which way she was headed, where the closest exit was, and other pertinent information. At one point, he even walked back to his truck to check the GPS, wanting to be certain he had provided the correct details. He stayed with the woman until she managed to reach her brother on a cell phone,” the TCA stated.
The next day, the motorist wrote a letter to Garvey’s employer Epes Transport.
“He was really like an angel,” she wrote. “He could have possibly saved my life. Who knows how long it would have taken for someone to run right into me? I offered to pay him for his trouble, but he politely refused. He was a gentleman who went out of his way to help me. It is a rare thing in this day and time for someone to get involved.”
Two years ago, Garvey retired from a 20-year military career. He says that helping people is just “the military thing to do.”
“I can’t believe how cold-hearted some people are,” he said, referring to the many motorists who saw what happened but kept on driving. “She was clearly frustrated. I just couldn’t leave her stranded in that danger zone.”
For his act of kindness, Garvey was awarded the TCA’s Highway Angel Award.
The Highway Angel program is sponsored for TCA by Internet Truckstop. Since the program’s inception in August 1997, hundreds of drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the unusual kindness, courtesy, and courage they have shown others while on the job. TCA has received letters and e-mails from people across North America nominating truck drivers for the program.