ARLINGTON, Va. — Andre Reynolds of Phoenix and Stephen Miller of Tifton, Georgia, have more in common than simply driving for the same motor carrier — Hogan Transports Inc., based in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
This year, both drivers have been recognized by the Truckload Carriers Association as TCA Highway angels because of their selflessness in helping other motorists in two separate incidents.
Andre Reynolds
On April 15, at about 1 p.m., Reynolds was traveling along MS27, a two-line highway, near Utica, Mississippi, when the driver of a Ford Mustang unexpectedly turned into his lane. The car was moving erratically, coming almost to a stop in the lane — nearly causing a collision — before suddenly veering off the road and landing head-first in a ditch.
“I was so close to hitting this dude,” Reynolds said. “I wasn’t expecting that at all!”
Reynolds pulled over to check on the other driver and discovered that the man behind the wheel of the Mustang was having a seizure.
“He was pretty much incoherent,” Reynolds said.
Another driver stopped to help, so Reynolds asked him to call 9-1-1. Together, they waited with the driver until the seizure stopped. The man was still disoriented, but he tried to make a phone call to his father. Reynolds took the phone and explained to the man’s father what had happened.
“Slowly but surely, he started to come back,” Reynolds said.
Once the accident victim was alert and walking on his own, Reynolds left and continued on his way.
“I wouldn’t leave somebody in a bad spot,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt to help somebody.”
Stephen Miller
Miller earned his wings after helping put out a car fire. Shortly after midnight on Feb. 21, he was traveling south on Interstate 75 in Punta Gorda, Florida, when a car passed him at a high rate of speed. As they passed over a bridge near exit 164, the vehicle in front of Miller hit a dip in the road.
“The guy hit the dip, and I thought he wiped out because there was a huge plume of smoke,” Miller said. “As I was coming through the smoke, I was looking for a wrecked-out vehicle.”
When he spotted the vehicle, which hadn’t yet stopped, smoke was billowing out from underneath, quickly followed by flames. The driver pulled off the road. Miller pulled his truck over, grabbed his fire extinguisher and sprang into action as other vehicles passed the scene.
“I jumped out, ran back there and shot the fire extinguisher underneath the car to see if I could get the fire out from there, because that’s where it was coming from,” Miller said.
The fire continued to grow, however, so Miller asked the other driver to pop the hood — whereupon Miller deployed the rest of the fire extinguisher. The fire was still not out, so Miller returned to his truck and grabbed a 40-pack of bottled water.
“I got the fire out with the bottles of water,” said Miller, who has been driving a truck for 10 years. He stayed by the vehicle with the driver until first responders arrived. There were no injuries to the male driver and passenger from the vehicle.
“I was raised, if you see something, you help out if you can. We gotta look out for each other,” Miller said.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been in publishing for more than 30 years. You name it, Linda has written about it. She has served as an editor for a group of national do-it-yourself publications and has coordinated the real estate section of Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper, in addition to working on a variety of niche publications ranging from bridal magazines to high-school sports previews and everything in between. She is also an experienced photographer and copy editor who enjoys telling the stories of the “Knights of the Highway,” as she calls our nation’s truck drivers.
