KERSEY, Colo. — There’s a Pennsylvania firefighter who decided to go back into trucking — and there’s another trucker out there who is very glad that he did.
After following his father’s footsteps into the trucking industry and driving for several years — even earning honors as a TA Citizen Driver by TravelCenters of America in 2023 — Lamar Buckwalter, now 49, decided in 2024 to become a full-time firefighter. Until then, he had been at least a volunteer since he was 14 years old, serving as an EMT and first responder.
On July 2, 2025, Buckwalter went down in a house fire and was hospitalized because of his injuries.
“The doctor came in and said, ‘Dude, during the next eight hours, your body will decide if it’s going to give up the fight, and you’re going to die — or it’s going to say you’re going to fight, and you’re going to live,'” he said. “Something like that really makes you question your life choices.”
Buckwalter chose to live. He also decided it was time to give up fighting fires. He contemplated his future for nearly eight months until he became a trucker again.
Two weeks into the decision to step away, while still working as a full-time firefighter, Buckwalter says he responded to seven fatalities, including one that cemented his decision. The victim was a little girl who had been hit by a car. She didn’t make it.
“I had to carry her lifeless body to her family,” he said.
And so, Buckwalter returned to trucking — and it’s a good thing he did.
On the night of April 3, 2026, he was rolling through the Rockies on Route 34 near Kersey, Colorado. It was around midnight, and the weather was not too trucker-friendly.
“It was only me and one other truck on the road,” Buckwalter said. “Keep in mind: There’s a wind advisory for light high-profile vehicles. The other truck was a tanker, maybe four to five truck lengths in front of me.”
Buckwalter says he could feel the south wind hitting the side of his truck.
“I’m just cruising along, listening to my praise and worship music — and the next thing I see is the truck making a hard right,” he said. “My first thought was, ‘What is he doing? There isn’t an exit there.’ Then I saw the sparks, a pole flying in the air, a big cloud of dust — and that tanker was now lying on its side.”
Buckwalter slowed, stopping 500-600 feet past the scene.
“I don’t even think the truck was stopped completely when I set the brakes, and I was jumping out and running back,” he recalled.
Was it just a coincidence that put Buckwalter on that Colorado highway at the right time to help the driver of a rolled tanker? Buckwalter believes it was something more.
“All I could hear is the driver screaming, ‘Get me out of here! I’m hauling hazmat!'” he said. “I made contact with the driver. He stated he wasn’t pinned, he just couldn’t get out. That’s when it went south. He went unresponsive on me.”
The tanker driver was only blacked out for a few minutes, but he could not reach the ignition to kill the engine. Once Buckwalter got the driver out of his cab, the tanker driver said they should get back because the tanker, which was hauling pesticides, could explode.
Not long after that police, fire and EMS arrived. Buckwalter sat in the ambulance with the other driver, letting him use his cellphone to call his boss and wife.
“From there, I moved to the front seat of a police cruiser to give my statement,” Buckwalter said. “The cop was very impressed with my quick response and willingness to jump in to help the driver with no regard to my own safety. As we walked back to my truck, I explained that I’m a proud volunteer firefighter and an EMT back home in Pennsylvania. She noticed my TA Citizen Driver sticker on the trailer. I told her, ‘What you saw me do tonight is why I earned that award.'”
Does Buckwalter think of himself as a hero? Not really. He believes it’s all part of a greater plan.
“I’m convinced God had me on that road for that reason — to be there for a fellow driver,” he said. “I pray for that driver, his family and his employer.”
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
