Trucker honored for helping a woman motorist stranded in snow storm

A Canadian trucker was recently recognized for his efforts to help a woman whose car battery had died.

The Truckload Carriers Association named truck driver Mohsen Baniyaghoub from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to help a woman when her battery was dead in the middle of a massive snowstorm in Pennsylvania. Baniyaghoub drives for Kriska Holdings Ltd. out of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

TCA explains:

Mohsen BaniyaghoubOn Sun.day, Jan 19, during a blinding snowstorm, Baniyaghoub was driving north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Interstate 81 in bumper-to-bumper traffic. He saw a woman stuck on the side of the road and stopped on the shoulder. At the time, another truck driver was on the scene trying to help.

“It was crazy snowing,” he said. “There was another truck driver there who said he couldn’t open the hood,” referring to the hood of the woman’s car.

Baniyaghoub was able to open the vehicle’s hood and discovered her battery was dead and had a buildup of battery corrosion on the terminals.  He went back to his truck and fired up his kettle to bring water to a boil, then went back to the car—kettle in hand— and cleaned the battery terminals of the corrosion buildup. Another car provided the jump for her battery, and Baniyaghoub instructed the driver how to save her battery power until it started to charge up.

“I can’t forget the woman’s phrase after we started her car,” Baniyaghoub said. “She was crying and told me ‘Bless you, bless you.’”

Since the TCA Highway Angel program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,500 professional truck drivers have been recognized as TCA Highway Angels for exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage displayed while on the job. Thanks to the program’s presenting sponsor, EpicVue, and supporting sponsors, DriverFacts and Northland Insurance, TCA is able to showcase outstanding drivers like Baniyaghoub.