Canadian truck driver Vijaydeep Sahasi was named a Highway Angel by the TCA for his work in saving the life of a woman who had gone into cardiac arrest.

Sahasi was driving on a remote section of Highway 5 in Merritt, British Columbia, when he was flagged down by an older man near his car on the side of the road. When Sahasi pulled up, the man drove his car forward stopping in front of the truck.

The man told Sahasi that he thought his wife was having a heart attack. He called 911 and rushed to the car where the wife was still strapped into the passenger seat, unresponsive. The 911 operator told Sahasi to remove the woman from the car and lay her on the ground.

The two men tried to flag down other cars but nobody stopped. The woman was not breathing and the operator coached Sahasi in giving CPR to the woman. He performed CPR for the 30 minutes it took the first responders to arrive and take over.

“I believe that what goes around comes around,” said Sahasi. “I was already running a little late, but destiny had planned something else for me that day.”

As the wife was loaded into the ambulance the husband hugged Sahasi and thanked him for what he did. He later called to say that she survived and was doing well. The man said that a doctor told him that his wife was lucky because only about 2% of people would have survived a heart attack in that remote a location.

“It made me feel so good that the doctor said I did CPR perfectly,” said Sahasi. “I never expected this job would take me somewhere like this.”

For his actions, the TCA presented Sahasi with a certificate, patch, lapel pin and truck decal. His employer, Bison Transport, also received a certificate acknowledging that its driver was a Highway Angel.

For more information on the Highway Angel program click here.