AKRON, Ohio, Feb. 20, 2017
/PRNewswire/ -- The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
(NASDAQ: GT) will announce the winner of the 34th
Goodyear Highway Hero Award on March
23 during the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in
Louisville, Ky.
Established in 1983, the Goodyear Highway Hero Award honors
professional truck drivers who put themselves in harm's way to help
others.
"The Goodyear Highway Hero Award is the oldest and most
prestigious honor of its kind," said Gary
Medalis, marketing director, Goodyear. "Goodyear is proud to
recognize truck drivers who risk their own lives to save
others."
Finalists for the 34th Goodyear Highway Hero Award
include a driver who rescued an unconscious motorist from a minivan
that had flipped over, a driver who pulled a mother and her three
children from a car that was upside-down in a creek bed, and a
driver who stopped an out-of-control dump truck and administered
first aid to its incapacitated driver.
Here are this year's Goodyear Highway Hero Award finalists and
their remarkable stories:
Chris Baker, a driver from
Chicopee, Mass. Baker was
driving on a New Jersey highway
when he spotted flickering lights ahead. Pulling closer to
investigate, he found a minivan that had flipped over onto its
side. Flames erupted from the vehicle's engine. Grabbing his fire
extinguisher, he ran to the van and put out the fire. By then, the
van's passenger had escaped and crawled to safety, but its
unconscious driver remained inside, hanging from a seat belt.
Working with a bystander, Baker unfastened the driver's seat belt,
grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him away from the van. Baker
stayed by his side until rescue crews arrived. The man survived and
did not suffer any significant injuries.
Tim Freiburger, a driver from
Huntington, Ind. Freiburger
was driving through Indiana when
he saw a car lose control and drive into a creek, where it flipped
and came to a stop, upside-down in standing water. Freiburger raced
to the car, which contained a mother and her three children. He
broke a window and pulled the children out of the car. After
carrying them to the creek's bank, he returned to the car, ripped
open its door, and rescued the mother. He stayed with the family
until paramedics arrived. The family suffered only minor bruises as
a result of the accident.
David Webb, a driver from
Billings, Mont. Webb and his
wife, Carol, were driving through Washington State when they observed a dump
truck in the next lane swerve. Webb pulled up to the dump truck and
noticed that its driver was slumped over the steering wheel. As the
dump truck slowed, Webb parked his own truck and ran after the
still-moving vehicle. Webb jumped onto the dump truck's running
board, opened the door, reached in and applied the brakes, bringing
the truck to a complete stop. As Carol called 911, Webb, working
with a bystander, pulled the driver, who was not breathing, out of
the truck and was performing CPR on him when help arrived. The
driver was hospitalized and survived.
Trucking industry journalists are now evaluating the above
finalists and will select the 34th Goodyear Highway Hero
Award recipient.
The winner of the Goodyear Highway Hero Award will receive a
special ring, a cash award and a congratulatory trophy. Each of the
other finalists will receive a cash prize and other items.
"We look forward to honoring our Goodyear Highway Hero Award
finalists for their courageous acts and naming this year's Goodyear
Highway Hero during MATS," said Medalis.
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SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company