August 10, 2021 was a normal day for Artur Express driver Donnell Harris. He had just delivered a load outside Sulphur Springs, Texas and was headed northbound on I-30 when, just ahead of him, he saw billowing smoke in the grassy median.
At first, Harris thought it was a grass fire, but as he got closer, he realized it was a Ford Mustang on fire. The flames were coming from the front of the vehicle and were beginning to spread to the grass below.
Harris carefully moved into the left lane of the two-lane divided highway and pulled over as far as he could on the shoulder and engaged his flashers.
Thankfully, the car’s occupants, a mother and her young daughter, had gotten out safely and moved a safe distance away from the blazing vehicle.
Harris noticed another motorist had stopped minutes earlier and was using a small extinguisher, but he could see it wasn’t enough to extinguish the blaze.
Harris grabbed his extinguisher and ran to help. He and the other motorist were able to keep the flames under control and kept them from spreading. The fire department arrived on the scene within five minutes and took over extinguished the burning vehicle.
For his efforts, Harris won the Truckload Carriers Association Highway Angel Award. The Highway Angel program, “recognizes driver professionalism and seeks to evaluate the public’s awareness of outstanding drivers in the trucking industry.”
“Today, we celebrated Donnell’s efforts,” said Kristi Randall, Artur Express Vice President. “While many motorists could have just driven past, Donnell stopped to help.”
Artur Express President Artur Wagrodzki applauded Harris’ actions. “We’re proud of all our drivers. Donnell’s willingness to stop and offer his assistance shows the motoring public that truck drivers do more than deliver goods; they are heroes on the road.”
“We’re honored to work with drivers like Donnell who not only work hard each day to service our customers on time, but also take the time out of their day to help others,” said Artur Express President Tom Tokarczyk.
