Two drivers named Highway Angels

Two truck drivers are the first to be honored in 2017 for helping others.

Mark McConachie, of Sparta, Illinois and Greg Moore, of Moultrie, Georgia have be named Highway Angels by the Truckload Carriers Association for coming to the aid of people in danger.

McConachie, who drives for for Maverick Transportation of North Little Rock, Arkansas, was honored for administering CPR to another driver who was suffering from a heart attack. Moore, who drives for Landstar Transportation Logistics of Rockford, Illinois, is being recognized for pulling a grandmother from a burning pickup truck.

On March 3, 2016, just after lunch, McConachie was waiting on his load at the Atlas Tube in Chicago, when he noticed that a driver he had been talking to leaned against a steal beam.

“I asked him if he was okay several times, but he didn’t respond back,” says McConachie.

Mark McConachie

The driver then fell backwards and McConachie told an Atlas Tube employee to call 911. He rushed to the driver and noticed his chest was immobile and his eyes rolled back in his head.  McConachie began performing CPR, which he learned years ago while in basic training for the Army.  He continued performing CPR along with an Atlas Tube employee until EMS arrived.  When the ambulance pulled away from Atlas Tube, the driver was still breathing, but unfortunately, McConachie found out later that the driver had passed away at the hospital.

McConachie is in his sixth year as a truck driver, and when asked about performing CPR, McConachie said, “I was taught to never stop until a professional gets there, and I will do whatever I need to do when someone is in distress.”

On the evening of April 13, 2016, Moore was driving west on Highway 100 just outside of Keystone Heights, Florida when a pickup truck rounded a curve ahead of him, left the roadway, and crashed into a tree. He immediately pulled over and ran to help. When Moore arrived at the scene he found a woman with a serious arm injury unable to free herself from the truck.

“I looked down and saw that her foot was up beneath the brake pedal,” said Moore.  Her foot was swelling and turning black as he struggled to free her. Flames and smoke began coming from underneath the pickup and Moore knew he had to get her out quickly.

Greg Moore

Moore pulled her one more time and her foot was finally freed from the vehicle. He rushed her to a safe distance away just as her truck was engulfed in flames. He waited with her until help arrived. When asked about this incident, Moore said, “I am just thankful that I was in the right place at the right time.”

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Moore began his career as a truck driver 16 years ago after a friend had challenged him. He has been driving ever since and enjoys the constant travel opportunities that truck driving provides.

Click here to watch a video about the heroic rescue.

For their willingness to assist those in need, TCA has presented each driver with a certificate, patch, lapel pin, and truck decals. Their fleets also received certificates acknowledging the drivers as Highway Angels.

EpicVue sponsors TCA’s Highway Angel program. Since the program’s inception in August 1997, hundreds of drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage they have displayed while on the job.