Hero truckie’s ‘longest drive’
The time it took Deane Rodgers to drive his truck to safety was the longest five minutes of his life.
The Summerland Express Freight driver became a hero last Friday when his quick thinking averted disaster after he drove his truck, its trailers engulfed in flames, to the Makikihi Hotel truck stop.
There he detached the milk powder-laden trailers, saving the truck unit from the flames.
His actions have been praised by his boss and emergency services.
Speaking to Stuff yesterday, Dunedin-based Rodgers said he was transporting milk powder from Dunedin to Christchurch when he spotted the blaze in his rear vision mirror.
His first thought was to pull over immediately but then he saw what he described as ‘‘tinder dry wheat fields’’, and the temperature was 30 degrees Celsius and it was windy.
‘‘I did what I thought was right at the time. My second thought was to try and get the truck to a stop in Makikihi.
‘‘It certainly was the longest drive ever,’’ he said.
He said looking back the moment was hard to describe.
‘‘There were all sorts emotions.’’
Rodgers, 49, made it to a truck stop alongside the Makikihi Hotel and quickly detached the truck from the trailers.
‘‘The outcome was we lost a trailer and what was in it. At the end of the day there could have been millions of dollars of wheat lost or somebody’s life.’’
Rodgers said he was back at work but not driving yet.
He accompanied another driver on Tuesday and went past the scene of the fire. ‘‘There were a lot of emotions,’’ he said. of
Rodgers said he had received good support from family, friends and colleagues.
‘‘I have been driving trucks for 31 years. I’ve had a wee drive around town and I will be definitely be driving again. It’s all I know how to do.
‘‘A situation like that is pretty unexpected. Until you are put in a situation you don’t know how you are going to react. ‘‘I just want to move on now.’’ Summerland Express Freight general manager Grant Lowe said he was proud of Rodgers.
‘‘He is absolutely fine and fully recovered from his ideal. He is not even on special leave and we’re proud of him.’’
It was widely believed emergency services and local by