AKRON, Ohio, Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Goodyear Tire
& Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) will celebrate the
35th anniversary of its Highway Hero Award on
Thursday, March 22, via a special
event that will take place during the week of the 2018 Mid-America
Trucking Show in Louisville,
Ky.
"Since 1983, Goodyear has honored professional truck drivers who
have put themselves in harm's way to help others, making the
Goodyear Highway Hero Award the oldest and most prestigious honor
of its kind," said Gary Medalis,
marketing director, Goodyear. "It is our privilege to have
recognized truck drivers for their extraordinary acts of heroism
over the last three decades and we will continue this great
tradition next month."
Finalists for the 35th Goodyear Highway Hero Award
include a driver who used his truck to end a high-speed chase
involving state troopers and a stolen car, a driver whose quick
thinking and skillful driving saved the life of a badly injured
motorcyclist, and a driver who administered first aid to a motorist
who had been pierced through the neck by a broken steering wheel
after crashing into a truck.
Here are this year's Goodyear Highway Hero Award finalists and
their remarkable stories:
Brian Bucenell, a driver from
Richmond, Va. Bucenell had
just merged onto the Ohio Turnpike near Toledo when he switched on his CB and
overheard other truck drivers discussing a high-speed chase that
was taking place not far from his location. Moments later, while
glancing at his mirror, Bucenell spotted a group of state trooper
pursuit vehicles chasing a car, which was rapidly heading his way.
Bucenell's truck suddenly entered a construction zone and was
forced to merge from three lanes to two lanes. The speeding car
tried to pass his 18-wheeler on the shoulder. Over the course of
the next minute, while maintaining highway speed, Bucenell kept
pace with the car, spotted an opening and maneuvered his truck to
sandwich the car against the guard rail, stopping the vehicle and
giving state troopers time to catch up with it. Troopers arrested
the car's driver and passengers, who were later charged with motor
vehicle theft. They had chased the suspects, whose stolen car had
attained speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, for more than 20
minutes.
Ryan Moody, a driver from
Tacoma, Wash. Moody was
driving down a busy Chicago
freeway when a motorcyclist swerved and crashed in front of his
truck. With no time to spare, Moody skillfully maneuvered his truck
to avoid hitting the unconscious motorcyclist, who was bleeding
from a head injury, and then positioned his 18-wheeler to protect
him from other vehicles. After jumping out of his truck, Moody
wrapped his own shirt around the badly injured motorcyclist's head
to prevent further blood loss, while simultaneously calming
surrounding bystanders, who had gathered nearby. Moody stayed with
the motorcyclist until paramedics arrived. They later credited him
with saving the man's life.
Frank Vieira, a driver from
Ancaster, Ontario. Vieira was
driving near Toronto, Ontario,
when he heard a loud crash, looked over his shoulder and noticed
that a car on the other side of the road had slammed into the back
of a stationary roll-off truck. Vieira parked his truck and ran to
the car, whose driver had been pierced through the neck by a piece
of his own vehicle's steering wheel, which had snapped off on
impact. Vieira placed one of his hands over the still-conscious
motorist's wound and applied direct pressure, while using his other
hand to notify emergency services. The driver of the parked truck
walked over to the car to investigate and immediately fainted at
the sight of the injuries sustained by the motorist. While
continuing to apply direct pressure, Vieira used his foot to pull
the leg of the driver who had fainted away from traffic. Emergency
personnel arrived and transported both men to the hospital. They
survived.
Trucking industry journalists are now evaluating the above
finalists and will select the 35th 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 naming our next Highway Hero, honoring our
Goodyear Highway Hero Award finalists, and celebrating 35 years of
the Goodyear Highway Hero Award program next month," said
Medalis.
About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company:
Goodyear offers The Total Solution of trusted products, a
nationwide network, reliable services and fleet management tools to
help commercial trucking fleets lower their total cost of
ownership. To learn more, visit www.goodyeartrucktires.com.
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SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company