In February, a woman was in a car crash in Mississippi that caused her vehicle to catch fire. Thanks to the quick thinking of truck driver Anthony Blunnie, from Woodville, Texas, the woman was rescued and her life was saved. Blunnie, who works for Knight Transportation in Phoenix, Arizona, has now been honored by the Truckload Carriers Association as a Highway Angel for his heroic efforts.
TCA explains:
On February 15th, while training a driver on Interstate 20 in Jackson, Mississippi, Anthony Blunnie witnessed a van blow a tire and swerve off the road, causing it to flip over and catch fire. Blunnie, who was quick to react, instructed the driver he was training to pull over immediately.
“I jumped out of the truck,” Blunnie said, grabbing his fire extinguisher, and rushing to rescue the woman. By the time he reached the driver’s side door, the flames were inside the vehicle and approaching the injured woman.
“I went around to her side and tried to pull her out,” he said, finally having to break all the van’s windows to pull her out of the vehicle, with the help of another person. “If he hadn’t come, I don’t know what I would’ve done — I couldn’t have gotten her out by myself,” Blunnie said.
Blunnie said the woman was a Domino’s pizza delivery driver on her way to work and she sustained multiple injuries in the crash.
“Her face was all bloody and she broke her nose — the airbag got her.”
He said he didn’t hesitate to jump into the dangerous situation to rescue the woman.
“She would’ve been dead,” he said if he hadn’t rescued her. “Ten seconds after we got her out of the van, it was gone.”
Since the Highway Angels program began in August 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been acknowledged for their exemplary kindness, courtesy, and bravery displayed while on the job. With the support of its presenting sponsor, EpicVue, and its supporting sponsor, DriverFacts, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is able to recognize and showcase exceptional drivers like Blunnie.
