An Arizona trucker has been recognized for his assitance at the scene of a major accident on Interstate 71 in January.
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Jason Holmes from Phoenix, a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to help during a deadly vehicle crash in Ohio. Holmes drives for Prime, Inc out of Springfield, Missouri.
TCA explains:
Jason HolmesOn Sun., Jan. 12, around 4:30 p.m. EST in Delaware County, Ohio Holmes was driving on I-71 when he saw a crash.
State troopers say a black Hyundai Tucson was heading north on I-71. The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, veered across the median, overturned, struck the median cable barrier, and then hit a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck traveling in the southbound lanes head on.
Holmes was in the middle lane when he saw the Hyundai come to rest in the middle of the southbound lanes, while the Chevrolet slid off the left side of the highway after impact.
“It was horrible — extremely horrible,” Holmes said. “With the condition of the car that rolled, I knew it was gonna be bad.”
Holmes pulled over to the shoulder to assist. He ran to a 12-year-old girl, who had been ejected from the Hyundai.
“She was fine,” he said. “She just had scrapes and some bruising.”
He stayed with the girl until a nurse happened upon the scene. Holmes went to the first vehicle and saw that the driver was deceased. The driver’s fiance (the woman, whose daughter had been ejected) sustained extensive injuries.
“She was in bad shape,” Holmes said.
At the crashed pickup truck, he and a few U.S. Army personnel who happened upon the accident started prying the driver’s side of the truck door open. The driver had suffered major injuries to his arm and leg.
“He had two bones sticking out of his right leg,” he said. “On his left arm, the wrist was just hanging.”
Holmes helped the soldiers get the driver out of the vehicle and lay him on the ground to await EMS. Holmes moved to the passenger side of the truck and pried that door open. Though the young man in the passenger seat did not sustain substantial injuries his legs were trapped under the dashboard. He kept the young man calm and waited with him until EMS and fire and rescue arrived.
Since the TCA Highway Angel program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,500 professional truck drivers have been recognized as TCA Highway Angels for exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage displayed while on the job. Thanks to the program’s presenting sponsor, EpicVue, and supporting sponsors, DriverFacts and Northland Insurance, TCA is able to showcase outstanding drivers like Holmes.
Jason Holmes
