ALEXANDRIA,VA–The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Shawna Lewis, from Gun Barrel City a Highway Angel for stopping to care for a fellow trucker experiencing a medical emergency while driving. Lewis works for Artur Express in Hazelwood, Mo.
It’s an incredible story. at 3:30 p.m., May 8, Lewis was driving on Interstate 20 in Ruston, La. She heard via the CB radio that another trucker had stopped suddenly in the middle of the road up ahead and truckers were suggesting there was a medical emergency. Lewis has some medical training and had already stopped to help two other motorists in distress during her three-year trucking career, so she stopped to see if she could help.
“It didn’t appear to me to be a seizure,” she said. “He had a strong pulse. CPR didn’t appear to be necessary.” Lewis said the driver wasn’t able to speak and was sweating profusely.
She called 911, kept him still, talked to him and tried to find out his name. She wanted to comfort him in what had to be a frightening experience. “The only thing I knew to do was check his vitals and look for medication,” she said. Emergency responders arrived within 10 minutes or so, she said and she left the scene, never knowing what the problem was with the trucker.
Lewis’ father was a trucker, her son is a trucker and she said it is a childhood dream for her to drive a truck. Stopping to help someone in need comes naturally to her, she said. “Sometimes we even put ourselves in a dangerous situation,” she said. “It’s just what you do.”
Since the program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for exemplary kindness, courtesy and courage displayed while on the job. Thanks to the program’s presenting sponsor, EpicVue and supporting sponsor, DriverFacts, TCA is able to showcase outstanding drivers like Lewis.