A Canadian trucker was recently honored for coming to the aid of a cyclist who was the victim of a hit-and-run driver.
The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) recently named truck driver Terry Walde of Miami, Manitoba, Canada a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to aid a cyclist who had been struck by a semi-truck on the road in a hit-and-run accident. Walde drives for Searcy Trucking Ltd, out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
TCA explains:
Terry Walde On May 27, around 12:45 p.m., while traveling eastbound on Highway 1 between Ernfold and Chaplin, Saskatchewan, Walde encountered debris on the highway and immediately slowed down. Moments later, he came upon a cyclist, journeying across Canada, who had been struck by a semi-truck that fled the scene.
“I saw the bicycle, and I also saw the guy lying there beside the bicycle,” said Walde, who has been a professional truck driver for 42 years. “Another truck driver stopped and called 911 while I tended to the guy, to make sure he was still alive.”
The cyclist had sustained serious injuries including a broken leg, ribs, and collarbone. He was lying on the side of the road, struggling to breathe.
“You could see on the grass along a ditch that the truck (that fled) drove right onto the grass, then kept going back onto the road again,” Walde said. “You could see the right tire tracks of the tractor trailer went right over him (the cyclist) on the grass.”
Walde communicated the cyclist’s injuries to emergency responders, and then realized traffic wasn’t slowing down near the accident scene so he directed traffic for several hours.
Searcy Trucking later provided dashcam footage to support the investigation. RCMP Constable Ryan Oram confirmed with Searcy Trucking Ltd that the driver responsible was apprehended and charged shortly afterward. When asked why he went to such lengths to help the injured cyclist, Walde was very matter-of-fact.
“I’m old school — it’s the way I was taught,” he said. “We help each other.”
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 Walde.
Terry Walde
