Trucker Named TCA Highway Angel for Helping Couple with SUV on Fire

September 13th, 2024

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Lisa Haner from Ludington, MI, a TCA Highway Angel for helping a couple whose SUV was on fire while attached to an RV. Haner drives for Quick-Way, Inc out of Ludington, MI.

It’s an incredible story: On August 27, 2024 around 10:20 a.m. in Summit Township, Michigan, tanker driver Haner came upon a vehicle fire on the side of Highway 31. She saw that a couple was standing outside of their motorhome that was towing an SUV. The SUV was fully engulfed in flames, so she pulled over in front of the couple’s motorhome to see if she could help.

“I saw the woman out with her little fire extinguisher trying to blow it,” Haner said. “I got out my fire extinguisher and a man stopped in an SUV and we went over there.”

The woman owner of the burning vehicle told her to not put herself in harm’s way to save items from the SUV, so Haner stayed with the owners until the fire department arrived. An Army veteran with medical training, she tried to assess injuries.

“They were pretty shaken up,” she said. “The man got burned on his arm.”

Although the SUV seemed to be totalled, the motorhome was not damaged. Haner said she doesn’t know much about fires but wanted to see if she could help with injuries.

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. Haner.

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