ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is honoring truck driver Alexander Smith as a TCA Highway Angel for his courageous actions during a severe accident in Oklahoma late at night.
Smith is employed by Melton Truck Lines based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On June 18 at around 2:00 a.m., Smith was traveling west on I-44 amidst heavy rainfall. He saw a car overtake him before it sped past a semi-truck ahead of him. Unfortunately, he observed the car start to hydroplane and lose control, leading it to flip and rotate several times before it came to a halt on the roadside.
“I noticed the car flipping right in front of the other semi,” Smith recalled, emphasizing that the other truck did not stop even though the driver likely witnessed the incident. Smith quickly reduced his speed to keep a safe distance from the wrecked vehicle and pulled over to assess the situation.
“It ended up upright in the ditch,” Smith shared. “All the airbags had deployed. Honestly, after seeing the crash, I thought there was no way he could be alive.”
Upon reaching the car, he found the driver with some visible cuts and scrapes but still conscious.
“He was just looking at me in shock,” Smith said, recounting how the first thing the driver asked was, ‘Can you help me find my phone?’” After checking if the driver was okay, Smith assisted him out of the vehicle and called 911.
Although visibly shaken with only minor injuries, the young man was extremely thankful for Smith’s timely help.
“I stopped because I was there,” he stated. “Who else was going to help? I truly believe that we find ourselves in certain places for a reason.”
For more inspiring stories of Highway Angels, click here.
