ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Eric “Zach” Rogers, from Florence, Alabama, a TCA Highway Angel for helping an elderly woman who crashed her car while experiencing a medical emergency.
According to a TCA press release, on Aug. 21 around 11:30 a.m., Rogers — who works for Carter Express Incorporated out of Madison, Alabama — was traveling on Highway 72 just west of Slayden, Mississippi, when a motorist crossed the lanes of traffic in front of him and ran off the road.
“She cut all the way over in front of me and then ran off the road and spun and slid, then came back across the highway and ended up in the ditch,” Rogers said.
Rogers stopped his truck and went to assist the elderly female driver and her passenger. He found the driver convulsing, so he called 911.
“She was just out of her mind; she couldn’t talk and her eyes were rolling back in her head,” Rogers said. “I actually just held her and prayed because she reminded me of my grandmother and I knew that she was probably somebody’s grandmother — they probably weren’t ready to lose her.”
Roger’s remained with her until emergency services arrived and then, as a true trucker, completed his load.
“I don’t feel like I did anything special,” Rogers said. “I treated her like I would have wanted someone to treat my grandmother, had they been in the same situation.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
