Woman Trucker Named TCA Highway Angel for Rescuing Navy Veteran in Crash

Feb. 13th, 2024

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Michelle Meridy, from Indianapolis, IN, a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to help a man who crashed his motorcycle in the middle of the night and lay injured and unconscious in the left lane of a highway. Meridy drives for Angie’s Transportation out of St. Louis, MO. 

It’s an incredible story: On November 29, 2023, around 1:55 a.m., Meridy was driving on Hwy 270 northbound in Hazelwood, MO, when she came upon a body laying in the left lane of the highway. She assumed he was dead. As she slowed down to pull over, she noticed a crashed motorcycle off the side of the road. She parked and ran back to the man.  

“I get to him—he’s alive—he told me to call his girlfriend and he gave me her number, so I called her,” Meridy said. “I called the police, but the police were going the wrong way so I had to run down there to flag them down.” 

Apparently the motorcyclist hit the center median of the highway and flew off his motorcycle. For his part, crash victim Michael Stewart, who nominated Meridy  for the TCA Highway Angel Award, said he remembers very little about the night, except that Meridy called his girlfriend and stayed on the phone with her until emergency personnel arrived. He also remembers her directing traffic around him.  

“She’s my guardian angel; she saved my life,” the Navy veteran said, in tears. “She needs to be recognized for this.”  

Steward said he wants to meet Meridy in person to say thank you, and that he plans to get a tattoo with ‘Guardian Angel’ on it with Meridy’s name. 

Since the TCA Highway Angels program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,400 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 Ms. Meridy. 

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