The Truckload Carriers Association has named Bill Whitehead, a professional truck driver with FirstFleet Inc., of Murfreesboro, Tenn., as a Highway Angel for helping motorists whose car had been struck by a deer.
At about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, Whitehead was about to make a delivery and was driving east on Highway 402 in Georgia when he saw a car collide with a deer. The car, which had been in the right lane, suddenly swerved to the left and came to a stop in the median. Two women and two girls were inside.
Seeing flames underneath the vehicle, Whitehead made sure the stunned women got out of their car. He then obtained an extinguisher from his truck and began working on the flames. When some other motorists stopped to help, he returned to the truck to retrieve a second larger fire extinguisher. With the help of the other motorists, by the time the police arrived, he had mostly extinguished the flames and pushed the car back over to the right shoulder of the road.
“I have a daughter who is a single mother, and I hope someone would help her out if she ever needed it,” says Whitehead, who has been driving for nearly 30 years. For the kindness shown to the women that day, Whitehead has received a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate and patch. FirstFleet Inc. also received a certificate acknowledging that one of its drivers is a Highway Angel.
