Trucker Named TCA Highway Angel for Helping Human Trafficking Victim 

12/08/2023
Alexandria, Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Ronald Harvey, from Hardington, OH, a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to help the woman who was a victim of human trafficking. Harvey drives for America’s Service Line, out of Green Bay, WI. 

 It’s an incredible story: On Sept. 7, 2023, around 10:30 a.m., Harvey was at a truck stop store in Kenly, NC where he saw a woman who was crying and seemed upset. 

 “While she was in there getting a soda, I asked her, ‘Are you okay?’” Harvey said. “She said ‘no.’” 

 Harvey noticed she was quite disheveled and asked her when the last time she ate anything, to which she told him it was three days earlier. Harvey bought her a meal at the truck stop and he learned she was a victim of human trafficking and had been kicked out of a truck at the truck stop. She had no money, no phone, and was visibly shaken.  

 Harvey eventually contacted his dispatch, and then contacted a non-profit organization who gave the woman information about how to obtain help. He also allowed her to make phone calls to her family to let them know she was safe. He came to understand she may have addiction issues as well. 

 “I used to be a drug and alcohol counselor for the Marine Corps, so I kinda know what to ask and how to ask,” Harvey said. “I kept telling her, ‘I’m not going to leave you here. You’re gonna get to a safe place.’” 

 In the end, he bought her a phone and a bus ticket to go home to her family, where he hopes she is receiving the care and help she needs. 

 “It’s kinda in my repertoire—it’s the right thing to do,” Harvey said. 

 Since the TCA Highway Angels 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 sponsors, DriverFacts and Northland Insurance, TCA is able to showcase outstanding drivers like Mr. Harvey. 

 The TCA Highway Angels website can be accessed at https://www.truckload.org/highway-angel/.