The Truckload Carriers Association named Jimmy Torres and Juan Varela, team drivers for Stagecoach Cartage & Distribution of El Paso, Texas, as its latest Highway Angels. On Oct. 5, 2011, Torres and Varela were driving on Highway 277 near Eagle Pass, Texas. It was early in the morning and dark on that particular stretch of highway.
Suddenly, they came across a head-on collision between two tractor-trailers and saw the accident just in time to come to a stop before hitting any of the vehicles involved in the crash. Torres and Varela, the first people on the scene, got out of their truck to assess the situation and found one driver bleeding from the mouth and wedged inside his cab, but were unable to remove him. They discovered another driver who had been thrown out of the cab and his partner, who was limping with an injured leg.
Varela called 911, and both of the drivers directed traffic around the accident scene with flashlights so no one else would hit the wreck. They also waited onsite until the authorities arrived. “We were glad to be able to help out until the police arrived,” says Torres. “It was very dark, and I’m pretty sure more accidents would have occurred as other motorists came upon the scene. We were also glad to hear that all the drivers involved were ok.”
TCA has presented Torres and Varela with Highway Angel lapel pins, certificates and patches, and also gave Stagecoach Cartage a certificate acknowledging that two of its drivers are Highway Angels.
