Don Cronic of Menke Trucking, a truck driver from Alma, GA was recently honored by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) as a Highway Angel after stopping to assist an elderly woman in distress. The 85-year-old had fallen while changing her tire and was lying unaided on the side of the road when Cronic came upon her and went above and beyond to help.
On the evening of March 1st, 2023, Cronic was traveling down Georgia’s Highway 1 near Alma when he noticed a stranded car parked off to the side.
“I thought I saw someone laying on the ground,” he said, but wasn’t sure. As he drove on, he said, “it kept bothering me — was that really someone on the road?”
Unable to ignore his instinct to help, Cronic turned around and returned to the car where he found an 82-year-old woman collapsed on the side of the road. She’d had a flat tire and when she stepped out of her car into the rain, she slipped and fell. Cronic later learned that she had laid on the side of the road for over 30 minutes trying to yell for help in the dark and in the rain.
“I picked her up and put her in my truck because it was warm,” Cronic said. He then not only lent her his phone to reach out to her son but also rolled up his sleeves and mended a flat tire on the spot.
Cronic said he was happy to help and glad she wasn’t injured. Once her tire was changed, she asked if he could follow her as she drove home to ensure she would get there safely, which he did.
The woman’s son, JT Walker, wrote to Menke Trucking to inform them of the situation, stating, “Momma tried multiple times to pay him for his help and he refused. I pulled up, obviously frantic, and ran to check on momma thinking the worst only to find her in good spirits and unharmed. Before I could thank him or pay him for his help he was gone.”
Source: Highway Angel
