The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has recognized professional truck drivers Paul Lamoureux, Keith Rahn, Tim Olden, and Jason Corino as TCA Highway Angels because of their acts of heroism while on the road.
In recognition of these drivers’ willingness to help fellow drivers and motorists, TCA has presented each Highway Angel with a certificate, a lapel pin, patches, and truck decals. Their employers have also received a certificate highlighting their driver as a recipient.
Since TCA’s Highway Angels program began in 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels because of the exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage they have displayed while on the job. TCA extends special thanks to the program’s presenting sponsor, EpicVue, and supporting sponsors DriverFacts and Northland Insurance. To nominate a driver or read more about these and other Highway Angel award recipients, visit highwayangel.org.
Paul Lamoureux
Bison Transport — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Paul Lamoureux of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, is recognized as a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to help a woman and her son following after their car crashed in the wee hours of the morning.
At about 2:15 a.m. on August 25, 2023, Lamoureux was traveling along Highway 200 near Circle, Montana. A car pulled past him and continued along the highway. When the car was about a mile ahead of him, he saw the lights of the car suddenly swerve and then disappear over a hill.
As Lamoureux crested the hill, he saw a cow in the road and realized the car had gone into the ditch. He pulled over to help.
“I passed the animal that they hit, and I knew it was gonna be bad,” said Lamoureux, who has driven for Bison Freight since 2015.
“They hit a large cow that had somehow got out of its fenced off area, he said. “As they came over the crest of the hill, they nailed him.”
The driver of the car, Jamie Price, said she and her 18-year-old son were returning home from vacation to Fairchild, Wisconsin. When the car struck the cow, she said, it flew over the vehicle.
“You don’t think livestock is gonna be in the middle of the road,” said Price. “I can’t believe my son and I are alive.”
While she and her son sustained extensive cuts and abrasions, they suffered no major injuries in the crash.
At the scene, Lamoureux invited the crash victims into his truck while they waited for state troopers to arrive. He also provided them with wipes and bandages to help clean the cuts and remove the glass from their wounds.
“I’m so blessed and thankful that he was there,” said Price. “I don’t know what we would’ve done. He kept me safe.”
Keith Rahn
WEL Companies — De Pere, Wisconsin
Keith Rahn of Radford, Virginia, has been honored as a TCA Highway Angel after coming to the aid of a woman and her three children who were stranded on the highway. This is Rahn’s second set of angel wings; he was previously recognized for preventing a drunk driver from leaving the scene following an accident in August 2023.
On September 29, 2023, at about 9:20 p.m., Rahn was driving in dense fog on eastbound Interstate 80 in Ohio when he came upon a car stopped in the lane ahead of him.
“Thankfully I saw her,” Rahn said. “She was actually in traffic. She had lost power, and she didn’t have power even for the lights on her car. She was dead stopped.”
According to the TCA Highway Angel nomination form that was submitted by Jessica Lynn Daniels, the woman in the car, she was traveling with her two infants and 7-year-old child in the car when she lost power. She did not have a phone with her, and she was frantically trying to catch the attention of other passing motorists for help.
“Thankfully he was observant in the heavy fog and was able to stop and help push my car off the roadway and onto the shoulder before I was struck by another car,” Daniels wrote. “Nobody was stopping until this driver came and helped. He gave me all of his information, called the Ohio State Troopers, and stayed with me until they arrived to assist. I really am grateful for this driver, and I am sure that he saved our lives. God bless him!”
Timothy Olden
Decker Truck Line — Fort Dodge, Iowa
Timothy Olden of North Chesterfield, Virginia, earned a set of TCA Highway Angel wings after helping a fellow truck driver who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed.
The incident occurred on December 22, 2023, at about 2:30 a.m. Olden was driving on Interstate 40 through Crossville, Tennessee, when he saw an accident. A driver ahead of him, who was pulling a flatbed trailer, veered off the off ramp and crashed.
Olden immediately pulled over safely, called 911 and went to help the other driver, who appeared to have only minor cuts and bruises.
“He rolled his truck,” said Olden, who drives for Decker Truck Line. “He admitted to me and to the cops that he fell asleep.”
Olden remained with the other driver until law enforcement arrived.
He says he also shared a bit of advice with the other driver — the “three-yawn rule” when it comes to drowsing driving.
“If you yawn three times in a row, get to a truck stop and rest,” Olden said. “Go stretch out in the back of the truck.”
Jason Corino
Melton Truck Lines — Tulsa
Jason Corino of Deltona, Florida, is honored as a TCA Highway Angel because of his actions during a roadside shooting that prevented other motorists from being injured.
On November 29, 2023, at about 11:30 a.m., Corino was traveling on US 491 in Cortez, Colorado, when he noticed a car being driven abnormally, preventing him from merging.
The car passed Corino, along with three pickup trucks; then a police car passed, evidently in pursuit of the car. Corino later discovered the vehicle was involved in a “road rage” incident with the three trucks, and that police had been called for assistance.
A few miles down the road, law enforcement pulled the car over right in front of Corino. There was not a proper shoulder on which to park, so the stopped cars partially blocked the right line. Corino slowed and attempted to pass in the left lane.
“It’s just me, and the officer’s car in front of me and the suspect’s car in front of him, and I’ve got traffic behind me,” Corino said.“I got about 100 feet away and the kid got out of the car; then I heard the first two rounds (of gunfire). I slammed on my brakes right there to stop traffic behind me.”
Within seconds, Jason witnessed a deadly shoot-out erupt between the suspect, Jason Campbell, and the law enforcement officer, Cortez Police Department Sergeant Michael Moran. Fortunately, Corino was able to turn on his truck’s dash camera and capture the entire incident in a recording, which was later submitted to police.
“I could see the bullets bouncing off the ground,” Corino said. “I stopped right there to protect the people behind me.”
Reports show that Moran died as a result of injuries sustained during the incident. According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Campbell, along with a passenger in the vehicle, were later contacted on private property at 7500 US Highway 160, where a member of the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and a member of the Cortez Police Department engaged him, resulting in an officer-involved fatal shooting of the fugitive.
Corino was a key witness regarding the roadside incident, and his camera footage was used in law enforcement’s investigation.
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2024 edition of Truckload Authority, the official publication of the Truckload Carriers Association.
The Truckload Authority News Staff, comprised of award winning journalists and graphic artists, produces content for Truckload Authority, working in cooperation with the Truckload Carriers Association staff. Truckload Authority aims to keep TCA members abreast on the latest trends in the trucking industry as well as articles that feature TCA member executives and drivers. The Truckload Authority staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
