MACK GUFFEY NAMED A TCA HIGHWAY ANGEL FOR PULLING MAN FROM BURNING CAR

03/17/2015
Alexandria, Virginia

Mack Guffey, a professional truck driver with Atlantic Bulk Carriers of Providence Forge, Virginia, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA). Guffey, a resident of Gainesboro, Tennessee, is being recognized for saving someone’s life without regard for his own safety.

On July 17, 2014, at about 3 a.m., Guffey was traveling northbound on I-95 near the New York-Connecticut border. As he rounded a curve, he saw an overturned SUV on fire. Grabbing a fire extinguisher, he ran to the vehicle and emptied the contents on the flames until it ran out. The driver was still inside, unconscious.

Guffey got the man to wake up a little. When he began smashing in the passenger side window, the man started to protest, upset that his window was being broken.

“My car’s on fire,” the disoriented man told Guffey. “I know… you have to get out!” Guffey responded.

The man may have had a concussion and was suffering from several broken body parts. Nevertheless, Guffey reached into the window and pulled the man out, taking him to safety. When he stood up to return to the car, the vehicle suddenly burst into flames and was soon completely engulfed. Fortunately, no one else was inside. Throughout the ordeal, not a single person stopped to help Guffey, although many cars passed by.

“People were honking at me because I was in their way,” said Guffey. “There was a worker on the hillside, and I wanted him to block traffic, but he said he had to leave. He wouldn’t even turn his lights on. Everyone just wanted to keep going on their way regardless of what was happening. At least someone called 911.”

For saving the man and risking his own safety, TCA has presented Guffey with a certificate, patch, lapel pin, and truck decal. Atlantic Bulk Carriers also received a certificate acknowledging that one of its drivers is a Highway Angel.

TCA’s Highway Angel program is sponsored by EpicVue. Both organizations are honored to recognize deserving professional truck drivers as Highway Angels for the unusual kindness, courtesy, and courage they have shown others while on the job.