An Alabama-based truck driver was recently given the distinction of Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association. Michael Lee, who hauls freight for Melton Truck Lines, pulled over and offered his help at the scene of a five-vehicle crash, as reported by Overdrive.
Lee was driving along I-95 North in Florida when his rig approached ample traffic which quickly revealed a multi-car accident as its impetus.
“The traffic started to part ways like the holy waters,” Lee said, “and when I got up there, I saw more and more of it.”
The cars involved in the accident had all swerved their vehicles to avoid colliding with one another; however in the chaos, the vehicles made contact and stopped mid-way along the busy highway. One of the cars was a white Buick.
“When I got up there, there’s a whole bunch of people around the white Buick involved in the accident,” Lee said. “The door was caved in, and I asked if the lady was trapped in there and they said, ‘Yes, she is.’”
Lee saw that immediate action needed to be taken to save the woman. He ran to his truck and grabbed his binder bar which he used in an attempt to free the woman, who was injured. He was unsuccessful in getting her out but, from his past service with the U.S. Air Force and local fire stations, he was able to accurately assess the situation.
“The best that I could do was just to try to keep her comfortable and keep her still,” he said. “I did what I could to keep her awake and calm until the paramedics and rescue arrived.”
When emergency personnel arrived, police officers asked Lee to use his CB radio to notify other truck drivers to allow room for emergency vehicles to pass through the traffic.
Three of the people involved in the crash were taken to the hospital. Everyone involved in the accident – including the woman trapped in the Buick – is expected to recover from their injuries, paramedics said.
Lee’s selfless actions aided in the survival of those involved, but he remains humble.
“I don’t feel like a hero mainly because that would entail being more involved in the process than what I was,” Lee said.
