Trucker Named TCA Highway Angel for Helping

Extinguish Fire at Nighttime Crash

February 25th, 2025

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named truck driver Matt Harris from Ione, CA, a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to help extinguish a truck fire during a horrific nighttime crash in Lakehead, CA. Harris drives for ABF Freight out of Fort Smith, AR.

It’s an incredible story: On Feb. 18, 2025, at 8:30 p.m., Harris was traveling southbound on I-5 in Lakehead, CA. He came upon a tractor trailer that had been in an accident and was on fire.

“I saw a glow on the horizon,” said Harris, who has been driving the same route since 1994. “It was the truck that was on fire. I came around the bend and there was fire in the slow lane and diesel fuel all over the slow lane.”

He pulled over onto the left shoulder of the highway, grabbed his fire extinguisher and started combating the fire until the fire department arrived on scene. Apparently the driver of the truck had crashed into the guard rail, but exited the crashed truck without injury.

“The driver of the truck was freaked out; he was in shock,” he said. “The tires were on fire, so I put that out, and then underneath the fuel tank. I put out the most critical parts of the fire, by the fuel tanks, before my fire extinguisher ran out.”

Driving a truck since 1988, Harris has seen his share of accidents on the road, but says he stops because that’s what he would hope would happen if he were in trouble.

“Do unto others—the Golden Rule,” he said. “That’s it.”

Since the TCA Highway Angel program’s inception in August 1997, nearly 1,500 professional truck drivers have been recognized as TCA 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 Harris.

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