TCA names ABF trucker Highway Angel for aiding pickup truck driver

A trucker from North Carolina was recently recognized for aiding a motorist whose pickup truck was in trouble.

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) named truck driver Stan Combs, from Lexington, North Carolina, a TCA Highway Angel for alerting a driver that his vehicle was in distress, and pulling over to check on the driver’s safety and check for a vehicle fire. Combs drives for ABF Freight out of Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

TCA explains:

Stan CombsABF FreightEarly in the morning on April 23, Combs was driving northbound on Interstate 81 between Roanoke and Harrisonburg, Virginia, when he noticed sparks coming from a GMC pickup truck in front of him.

“I thought it was chains dragging,” he said. “When I saw it sparking a little too much, I was flashing my lights on and off; I was trying to get him to stop before he passed another truck, and then the sparks got even worse.”

Combs’ attempt to alert the driver of the truck was successful and he began to pull over.

“I knew something was gonna happen,” Combs said.

Just then, the sparking pickup lost its right front wheel, but the driver was able to pull over to the side of the road.

“Sparks went everywhere,” Combs said. “It went from a few sparks to, when it hit the ground, it was like somebody set a fire underneath it.”

Combs, who has been driving a truck for 16 years, stopped to make sure the driver and two passengers were okay, and that the vehicle did not catch on fire.

“I’m always gonna stop,” he said.

Since the TCA Highway Angel program’s inception in August of 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 Combs.