The Truckload Carriers Association , Alexandria, Va., has named Kristopher Humphrey of Quincy, Illinois, a Highway Angel
for the help he provided a fellow driver who suffered a heart attack on the road.
Humphrey, a company driver for McNay Truck Line, was traveling southbound on Highway 57 near Quincy on May 28, when he noticed a McNay truck on the northbound shoulder with the driver's door open. Humphrey found this "pretty odd" since McNay's terminal was less than a mile away. Humphrey slowed down and noticed the truck driver, a man he knew, lying in a ditch next to the vehicle.
Humphrey immediately stopped. He found the driver conscious but in severe pain. The man said he had intense chest pain and was afraid he might pass out. Humphrey returned to his truck and used his radio to call an ambulance. He then went back to do all he could to calm and reassure the man. Humphrey explained that the ambulance only took about ten minutes to arrive but to him it felt like two hours.
Because of Humphrey's quick thinking the other drivers is doing well and hoping to return to work full-time in 60 to 90 days. His cardiologist said that even a thirty-minute delay in getting him to the hospital could have resulted in a very different prognosis. Humphrey said that the men have spoken nearly every day, "it's changed both of our lives," he explained.
To view archival copies of past Highway Angel press releases, visit our website address at www.truckload.org/press03.htm. To nominate a driver online, go to www.truckload.org/angelform.htm.