Imagine this, you are driving along the frontage road when you see a double tanker truck lose control and hit a guardrail. 1/2 the truck flies over the overpass and it would have hit the ground if it wasn’t for the second trailer. You see the tanker burst into flames. By this time you have stopped and pulled completely over.
As the tanker is engulfed with flames, you see the driver of the truck fall/jump out of the truck and hit the ground below (rail road tracks actually). What do you do?
Well, Ivan Vasovic didn’t hesitate for a moment and ran over to the driver. He and another bystander grab the driver who they could clearly see was very injured, and start dragging him out of the way. The heat coming off of the rig, now fully engulfed, was too much to handle. They could only drag the driver a few yards before they had to stop and “cool off.” Vasovic’s heart must have been pounding and his body full of adrelience, what could he do?
Vasovic ran to this truck, poured all of the water he had in the truck on himself and ran back to the injured driver. With everything he had, he pulled the driver another 20 yards before the tanker suddenly crashed into the ground (where the driver had originally fallen himself).
“Ivan’s quick thinking and brave actions saved a fellow truck driver from a life-threatening situation,” said Gary Medalis, Marketing Director, Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems. “He literally put himself in harm’s way to save another person’s life. Ivan’s decision to interject himself into this deadly scenario is a powerful example of the selflessness exhibited by professional truck drivers. He has earned the right to be called a Highway Hero.”
Since 1983, Goodyear Commercial Tire System has been honoring highway hero’s. The Goodyear Highway Hero Award honors professional truck drivers who put themselves in harm’s way to help others as they travel the highways and roads of North America. The Highway Hero Award is one of several Goodyear awards, such as Goodyear’s “Put More Good on the Road” Award, that recognizes deserving individuals for their selfless deeds. For more information about the Goodyear Highway Hero Award and to read about past Highway Hero Award winners, click here.
To see the news footage of the wreck, click here. (NBC Channel 4 News)
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