ALEXANDRIA, Va. —The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is naming Stan Combs, from Lexington, N.C., a TCA Highway Angel for alerting a driver that his vehicle was in distress.
Combs also pulled over to check on the driver’s safety and to check for a vehicle fire. Combs drives for ABF Freight out of Fort Smith, Ark.
Seeing Danger
Early in the morning on April 23, Combs was driving northbound on Interstate 81 between Roanoke and Harrisonburg, Va. when he noticed sparks coming from a GMC pickup truck in front of him.
“I thought it was chains dragging,” Combs said. “When I saw it sparking a little too much, I was flashing my lights on and off; I was trying to get him to stop before he passed another truck, and then the sparks got even worse.”
Combs’ attempt to alert the driver of the truck was successful and he began to pull over.
“I knew something was gonna happen,” Combs said.
Just then, the sparking pickup lost its right front wheel, but the driver was able to pull over to the side of the road.
“Sparks went everywhere,” Combs said. “It went from a few sparks to, when it hit the ground, it was like somebody set a fire underneath it.”
Combs, who has been driving for 16 years, stopped to make sure the driver and two passengers were okay, and that the vehicle did not catch on fire.
“I’m always gonna stop,” Combs said.
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Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
