Four truck drivers are in the running to receive the 27th Goodyear “Highway Hero” award; a program that recognizes the often unnoticed life-saving rescues and roadside assistance offered by professional truckers in the course of their daily work.
The finalists are: George Lantzy, of Turtle Creek, PA,a driver for Fubar Trucking, for using his rig as a “roadblock” to stop an out-of-control car; Stephen Page, of Gloucester, MA, a driver for Pit Bull Trucking, for making an effort to save an unconscious drive trapped in a burning car; Jesse Lee Seal, of Alma, AR, a driver for PDP Unlimited, for extinguishing a vehicle fire and rescuing a trapped fellow trucker; and Junichi Shimizu, of Gladstone, OR, a driver for Chipman Relocations, for pulling a trapped driver from a burning car and contributing to the rescue of two other motorists after being involved in a multi-vehicle accident.
“These four individuals represent the thousands of professional truck drivers who work every day across North America and risked their own safety to rescue strangers who were in peril,” said Joseph Copeland, vp-commercial tire systems for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. “Time after time, truck drivers have emerged as bona fide heroes. When motorists have needed help, truck drivers have stopped to help, and put themselves in harm’s way,”
