DRIVER PULLS MOTORIST, BABIES FROM FLIPPED CAR, EARNS TCA HIGHWAY ANGEL WINGS

09/20/2011
Alexandria, Virginia

The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) is pleased to name Marcus Beam, a professional truck driver for Epes Transport System, Inc., of Greensboro, North Carolina, as its latest Highway Angel.

On August 8, 2011, at about 7 or 8 p.m., Beam was driving on I-40 near Benson, North Carolina on his way to Henderson, North Carolina, to drop a load, when he saw a speeding car strike a vehicle, causing it to flip and careen down an embankment into the woods. He pulled over and approached the accident scene. There were other motorists present, but they refused to help because the car’s engine was revving, and it seemed like the car might catch on fire.

It was very dark in the woods, and Beam could not see very well. He finally located the car and saw that the driver was trapped by her seat belt and hanging halfway out of the window. She was shouting, “My babies! My babies!” Beam pulled her out and immediately turned the engine off. He then turned his attention to the back seat, where a 6-month old infant and a toddler were dangling upside down from their car seats. The infant appeared to be choking against the car seat’s straps, but accessing the children was difficult because the roof was crushed and the opening between the front and back seats was only about 12 inches. Beam solved the problem by lying on his back and carefully maneuvering backward until he could free the children.

At some point later, Beam realized that he was covered in broken glass. Fortunately, he had not been injured during the rescue. “All I could think was I had to get those babies out of the car,” he said. “I didn’t even consider the possible danger to myself.

Since the program’s inception in August 1997, hundreds of drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage they have displayed while on the job.