ABF Freight System truck driver Stanley P. Gorczak has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for helping a woman pull through a medical emergency.
On Aug. 8, Gorczak had checked into a hotel in Omaha, Neb., and was in the lobby to fill his Thermos with coffee when a hotel clerk ran toward him screaming that another hotel employee had collapsed. Gorczak handed his cell phone to the clerk and told her to call 911. He then ran to the other employee, who was lying prone on the floor.
Gorczak rolled the woman onto her back, checked for a heartbeat and looked at her eyes to see if the pupils were dilated. He tried to get her to respond, but she was incoherent. Noticing she was shivering, he sat her up in a chair and covered her with towels. He held her head up to prevent her from choking in case of a seizure and waited with her until the paramedics arrived.
“I was just being myself, and I only did what I hope someone would do for me,” Gorczak says. “I was in the right place at the right time to help somebody.”
This is the second time that Gorczak has helped someone while on duty for ABF. Earlier this year, he was eating at an Illinois truckstop when a customer began choking on food and fell to the floor. Gorczak turned him on his side and managed to get him to cough up the food.
As a TCA Highway Angel, Gorczak will receive a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate and patch for his efforts. ABF also will receive a certificate acknowledging that one of its drivers is a Highway Angel.
