Truck driver honored for helping a motorist, which is just something he would do anyway
Deeds
In 44 years as a truck driver, David Stuckey of Brackenridge has stopped to help many motorists, but nothing was as heroic as what he did last fall. The 65-year-old employee of Ward Trucking in Altoona, Blair County, coaxed a driver out of a car shortly before it caught on fire.
For his efforts, he was recently named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association, a national trade association whose focus is the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry.
Mr. Stuckey approached a red light in November at 3:30 a.m. in Perrysburg, Ohio, when he noticed a car stalled after it had made it through the light. Sparks were coming from under the car, so he called 911.
The former U.S. Army mechanic got out of his truck and went over to talk to the young male driver, urging him to get out of the car, which was filling up with smoke. The driver resisted, telling Mr. Stuckey he had to go home.
“He seemed to be in shock,” Mr. Stuckey said.
The man finally got out of the car before it was engulfed in flames.
Mr. Stuckey left the scene after handing over the case to police and proceeded on his route. He did not get the other driver’s name, nor has he heard from him.
“I’m just glad I was able to help,” Mr. Stuckey said. “I’m a Christian.
“I was at the right time and the right place. You do what you have to do.”
As a Highway Angel, Mr. Stuckey will receive a lapel pin, patch, decals and personalized certificate of appreciation. Ward Trucking, which nominated him, also will receive a certificate of recognition for display at its terminal or office.
The Truckload Carriers Association said his vigilance in seeking help for the driver of the sparking car, as well as persuading him to exit the vehicle, illustrates his strong character and integrity. If it had not been for Mr. Stuckey, the driver might have perished in the car fire.
Mr. Stuckey is one of two southwestern Pennsylvania residents and one of two Ward Trucking employees honored by the program since January.
Greg Rupp, a parts delivery driver from Leechburg, Armstrong County, was recognized for stopping to assist at the scene of a motorist who was struck while pushing his stalled vehicle in October
on Route 40 near Brownsville, Fayette County. The injured driver later died.
Since the program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for exemplary courtesy and courage displayed while on the job. Their good deeds range from simple acts of kindness, such as fixing a flat tire, to heroic life-saving efforts, such as pulling someone from a burning vehicle and administering CPR.
Mr. Stuckey said it is nice to be recognized, but he would have acted anyway. He said when he cannot stop to help a driver, he will call to alert authorities.
He said the closest he came to a life-and-death situation with a vehicle before was in the 1970s when he was in the military and called on to help lift a tank off someone.
Mr. Stuckey has been
with Ward Trucking since 1977, following his father there, and he has been recognized many times for his exemplary safe driving history.
Company president Bill Ward — the fourth generation to run the 90-year-old family owned business —
said Mr. Stuckey is one of the most substantive people he knows.
For more on the Highway Angel program, visit truckload.org/highway-angel.