Highway Angels

Drivers help prevent a potential disaster

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) honored owner-operator team drivers Irene and Dennis Howard as Highway Angels for acting quickly when a fellow motorist fell asleep at the wheel.
     On Aug. 4, 2009, the Howards were hauling a load for Landstar Ranger near Hydro, OK. Irene was driving in the westbound lanes when she noticed a pickup truck traveling eastbound fishtail, cross the median and head straight toward the Howards   and their tractor, which was filled with explosives.
     The pickup narrowly missed their trailer, but struck a cable barrier, went airborne, overturned, hit the pavement and broke into several pieces.
     “My rule is to get explosives at least 300 feet away from any accident, so I drove to a safe distance as fast as I could,” said Irene. “I’ve always been a defensive driver. You just never know what you’re going to encounter out there.”
     Irene’s quick actions came just in time, because the pickup burst into flames almost immediately.
     While Irene was repositioning the explosives away from the accident and calling emergency personnel, Dennis joined several other motorists in extracting the couple inside the pickup from their burning vehicle. The driver was in shock and later admitted that he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
     The Howards stayed on the scene until police and fire rescue arrived. Because of their quick thinking, Landstar later awarded them with its Platinum Star of Quality Award.
     “This accident was bad, but I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if those explosives had caught fire,” said Chris Burruss, TCA’s president. “Without Dennis and Irene, that accident could easily have turned fatal.”