ALEXANDRIA, Va. —The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Christopher Blount of Sulphur, Louisiana, a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to extinguish a car that was on fire on the side of the highway.
Blount drives for Melton Truck Lines out of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Blount’s story began on Oct. 2 while driving on Interstate 10 on the outskirts of Houston, according to the TCA.
He noticed a car fire on the side of the road and saw a man on a cellphone watching in dismay.
Everyone was driving by, and no emergency vehicles had arrived yet. Blount said he was concerned with how big the fire was becoming, and it was spreading.
“I wanted to stop and help him out and try to put out the fire, because the fire looked like it was starting to get worse,” Blount said. “The fire was starting to go from gray smoke to black smoke and I was concerned about it getting to the gas tank.”
He immediately pulled over and grabbed his fire extinguisher. Once he confirmed no one was in need of help, Blount began spraying the car engine and was able to extinguish most of the fire and prevent it from spreading even further.
“The driver was very thankful,” Blount said. “As soon as I actually got the fire out, the firetrucks got there.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
