Fatal crash haunts 2005 Highway Hero
That urge to do something in the face of mortal danger is something that sets people like Doug Crawford (above) apart. Every year, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company seeks to recognize and celebrate the actions of people like Doug Crawford with its annual North American Highway Hero program. The program recognizes a professional driver who was heroic or risked life and limb to help others on the road.
The Trucker News Services
1/6/2009
About a year and half after the SAIA Motor Freight driver saved the life of Herman Langford, a truck driver from Leesburg, Ga., from the cab of his burning rig, he came upon an accident on U.S. Interstate 10 near Lake City, Fla., in which an entire family perished.
Just several minutes earlier, the family’s car had spun out of control on the rain-slicked highway, crossed the median and struck a big rig head on. Crawford later learned that as their car filled with smoke, the family members tried to get out, but couldn’t because the car doors had automatically locked. When the car exploded, it killed everyone inside.
“I felt bad because I knew had I been there at the time of the accident, I would have found a way to get them out of that car before it blew,” he said. “It might have been a bad idea, but I would have found a way to break out the window or do something else to try to save their lives.”
That urge to do something in the face of mortal danger is something that sets people like Doug Crawford apart. Every year, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company seeks to recognize and celebrate the actions of people like Doug Crawford with its annual North American Highway Hero program. The program recognizes a professional driver who was heroic or risked life and limb to help others on the road.
The accident that trapped and killed the family shortly after Goodyear presented Crawford its 2005 Highway Hero Award still haunts him. But Crawford said he takes comfort in the fact that the man he saved a year and a half earlier is now back driving a truck as an owner-operator.
Herman Langford was hauling a load of cooking batter for Sexton Farms Trucking northbound on I-85 on Aug. 25, 2005, when a southbound tractor-trailer crossed the grassy median and struck his truck head on. Langford’s truck was down in the ditch and on fire when Crawford grabbed him and pulled him out of the burning truck. Moments later, the truck exploded.
“The night I went and saved Mr. Herman’s life, I didn’t even realize I had done what I had done until after it was over.” Crawford said. “No doubt saving his life has changed mine. It made me realize that life can slip by so quick.”
Crawford said winning the 2005 National Highway Hero award also changed his perspective on the trucking industry and what it means to be a truck driver.
“It made me realize just how big the trucking industry is and how important it is to our country’s economy,” he added.
Winning the award also made him a celebrity in his hometown of Ashford, Ala.
“I was at a local furniture store helping my wife pick up a new chair and when I went up to the register to pay for it, I gave the sales clerk a check,” Crawford said. “He looked at it and said my name. Then he asked me, ‘I was reading this magazine about the Goodyear Highway Hero, are you that same person?’ And I said, ‘Yes, sir, I am.’ ”
He then went back into the store office, got the magazine and brought it out for everyone else to look at, Crawford said.
“Everybody in that whole store just lighted up when they saw that article,” Crawford said. “That moment made me feel special and proud to be a truck driver.”
Nomination forms and program details may be obtained by visiting the Goodyear Commercial Tire Web site by clicking here or by calling the Goodyear Hero Hotline at (330) 796-8183. Nominees must be a full-time truck driver and must reside in the United States or Canada. See the nomination form for a full list of criteria.
The Trucker staff can be reached for comment at editor@thetrucker.com.