Flatbed Tow Truck Driver Pulls Child From Harm’s Way

Back in September, 47-year-old, California flatbed tow truck driver, John Storey risked his life in order to save a five-year-old girl at a truck stop.

Greg Burke and his wife had stopped to reorganize their vehicle, and tend to their youngest child when their five-year-old daughter Gloria wandered away from them, and into an exit lane for trucks.

Driver, Storey had stopped, after coming back from delivering a vehicle when he noticed the little girl in the roadway, and a truck that was accelerating toward her and the highway.

“I stopped to have a washroom break and grab a milk (my coffee) on my way home from Toronto. I always stop because I am a firm believer in taking breaks to stay alert. I don’t know what caught my attention, but I noticed what I thought was a little boy (which I later learned to be a girl) in the large truck exit lane, just standing there,” Storey said.

Storey ran out into the lane to pull her from harm’s way.

“I did not think of anything, just that the child was in trouble. I saw the truck heading out, maybe the noise of changing gears drew my attention… I don’t know exactly, but I knew I had to do something.” – Storey

“The truck went by just as I picked the child up, so both of us were pretty close to being hit,” Storey said.

The driver returned the girl to her parents, wished them a good day, and left.

The family eventually reached out to CAA (the Canadian Automobile Association) – whose logo they noticed on Storey’s truck, to track Storey down, and thank him.

According to Carson Thompson, the CEO of Bluewater Towing Storey had only been working for the company for three months, and “he’s (Storey) got a heart that’s unbelievable… without a doubt I can say this: he is the most dedicated employee I have ever had and I’ve been in business since 1989.”

Sources

CAA

The Observer