On a snowy, dark December morning, a truck driver traveling along Interstate 80 near Elk Mountain, Wyoming, hit a patch of black ice, causing the truck to jackknife and block the roadway.
At the same time, Carl and Eva Marshall of Marshall Trucking, Payette, Idaho, crested the hill and saw the wreck happen beneath them. Just then, another truck collided with the jackknifed truck. The impact was so severe that it caused the top of the cab to peel back.
The Marshall’s stopped their truck and rushed to help the crash victims.
Carl and a highway patrolman went to help the driver of the truck whose cab had been destroyed. The two dug through the wreckage to find the driver but couldn’t find him.
“Honestly, we didn’t think the driver had survived the impact,” said Carl. “Since we couldn’t see him, we assumed he was buried inside all the rubble.”
Soon after, Carl saw a man who was covered in blood and oil wandering around the side of the road. The man appeared to be disoriented. Carl took the man into his truck. The Marshall’s applied pressure to the man’s wounds and tried to keep him calm until paramedics could arrive.
The man survived and nominated the Marshall’s for the TCA’s Highway Angel program, which they were awarded.
“Carl and Eva have been driving for 14 years and have covered between 3 and 4 million miles throughout that time. Since their route always takes them through cold weather states, they have seen many vehicles roll over or slide off the road due to icy conditions. This time, Carl said, ‘It was really, really bad. Someone was looking out for [the man we helped] that day,'” the TCA states.
To learn more about the Highway Angel program or to nominate a driver, please visit http://www.truckload.org/highway-angel.