The Truckload Carriers Association recently recognized Edison Yeager of Burnside, Penn., as a Highway Angel for his selfless actions, which saved the life of an elderly passenger in a car. Yeager, a driver for Kephart Trucking, was driving eastbound on Interstate 80 to pick up a load in New Jersey, when he saw a car ahead of him parked on the shoulder of the road.
An elderly woman got out of the car and began waving for help, so Yeager parked his truck on the shoulder and ran toward her car. “She told me to please hurry because her husband was choking,” Yeager said. “When I arrived at the car, he was still in his seat, so I got him out of his seat and performed the Heimlich Maneuver on him, which dislodged the food from his throat.” Yeager had received medical training while working as an EMS and the U.S. Army.
Yeager told her that they should drive to the nearest hospital to make sure that her husband was all right. They thanked him for helping them, asked for his contact information and went back on the highway. The husband “had been eating a sandwich which caused him to choke,” Yeager said. As the only person who stopped to help them, he provided emergency medical care to the husband and saved his life. “The right thing to do is to help people on the road,” Yeager said. “You never know who it might be.”
Yeager received a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate and patch for his efforts, and his employer also received a certificate for acknowledging a Highway Angel in their midst. “The kindness and generosity of these professional truck drivers, who risk everything to save the life of a driver or passenger on our roads, continues to amaze us,” said Nancy O’Liddy, TCA director of public relations and marketing. “TCA is proud and delighted to provide this program, to highlight the positive impact these drivers have on our roads.”
