Liz Williams of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, an owner operator leased to America’s Service Line, LLC of Green Bay, Wisconsin, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA). She is being recognized for her role in helping accident victims during a snow storm.

 

On January 9, 2017 around 10:15 p.m., Williams was driving Wisconsin 29 headed to Minneapolis in a bad snow storm. As an owner operator, this was an odd run for her and not her normal route. As she was driving cautiously along, the snow had stopped and she hit a clear stretch of road, but then ran into a bad squall. A couple in a pickup truck moving very quickly down the freeway passed her 18-wheeler and sped ahead. Just then, they hit a slick spot on the road, began to zig zag, and then veered 150 feet off the road. Williams attempted to stop safely next to them but had to turn around to meet them on the other side, pulling up slowly.

 

As luck would have it, she had been at a dinner earlier that evening and was wearing high heel boots! She quickly but carefully climbed out of her truck and began to wade through a three-and-a-half-foot snow bank. The motorists’ truck had rolled three times. Williams noticed that the couple’s dog and their belongings had been ejected. The dog was on a twenty-foot extendable leash, so after it was thrown from the truck, it was dragged through the snow. Williams quickly retrieved the dog and brought it back to the truck—amazingly it was unharmed. She used her flashlight and also located the woman’s purse in the snow.

 

Getting closer to the vehicle, she saw that the woman was wedged behind the seat because she had not been wearing a seat belt. Without hesitation, Williams kicked out the back window and extricated the woman. Acting quickly, the professional truck driver then ran back to her truck and retrieved blankets as she noticed neither the woman nor the driver were wearing jackets. Williams also cut a sheet and wrapped it around the woman’s arm that was bleeding.

 

After calling 911, Williams used her cell phone to call the couple’s son to let him know that they were injured but reassured him they were OK. Williams helped to keep the motorists calm and warm until paramedics arrived nearly 30 minutes later due to the many accidents from the snow storm.

 

America’s Service Line, LLC presented Williams with a check for her bravery but she has not cashed it.

 

“I don’t deserve a check,” she shared with TCA. “Why wouldn’t someone stop and do what I did? I witnessed a truck that had rolled over and people were in need. It was the middle of winter and blizzard conditions so you stop and render aid and figure out the rest later. I’m always the first one to stop. Williams added that if she sees an accident, she stops. “That’s what we’re supposed to do,” she shared.

 

For her efforts on that frigid night, TCA has presented Williams with a certificate, patch, lapel pin, and truck decals. America’s Service Line, LLC also received a certificate acknowledging that one of its drivers is a Highway Angel.

 

TCA’s Highway Angel program is sponsored by EpicVue.