Trucker Named TCA Highway Angel for

Helping in Multi-Vehicle Crash

August 12th, 2025

ALEXANDRIA, VA— The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has honored Mike Kimball, of Edwardsville, Kansas, as a TCA Highway Angel for his quick thinking and compassionate actions after encountering a multi-semi truck crash in Missouri. Kimball, a professional driver for ABF Freight out of Fort Smith, Arkansas, demonstrated remarkable composure, care, and courage in the face of tragedy.

On July 29, 2025, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Kimball was traveling on Interstate 70 through Mineola, Missouri, when he noticed smoke ahead and vehicles swerving to avoid something in the road.

“I didn’t see the accident happen but I was one of the first vehicles on the scene,” Kimball said. “I drove past it, then I grabbed my fire extinguisher and my gloves and I ran back to it.”

Kimball said a Covenant semi-truck had been stopped on the shoulder and appeared to have pulled into traffic as vehicles were approaching. A Peterbilt semi struck the Covenant truck from behind, and the Peterbilt immediately caught fire.

“The truck had hit so hard that the motor was shoved completely under the truck,” said Kimball. “It had hit the firewall and pinned the driver in the truck.”

Kimball and several other truck drivers ran toward the burning vehicle with fire extinguishers. Kimball also called 911 and relayed a detailed account of the scene to emergency responders.

Inside the 2014 Peterbilt, a 72-year-old male driver was pinned by the dashboard and steering wheel. Kimball and the other drivers quickly emptied their fire extinguishers in an attempt to control the flames.

When a county sheriff arrived and stopped traffic, Kimball urged him to allow passing semi-trucks through so he could request additional extinguishers. As each truck rolled past, Kimball ran to the driver’s side, asking for its fire extinguisher. He and the others cycled through extinguishers, using each until it was empty, working tirelessly to keep the fire from reigniting.

“We got probably four or five more fire extinguishers from different drivers that were driving past,” he said. “We finally got the fire to go out.”

Once the flames were reduced enough to attempt a rescue, Kimball climbed onto the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) tank to try to force the driver’s door open or move the steering wheel. When that failed, he reached through the shattered windows, attempting anything that might free the man from the crushed cab. He then ran to the passenger side, only to find the air cleaner and smokestack had been pushed into the seat, blocking that escape route.

Another rescuer produced a small saw, and someone else brought a crowbar. Together, they tried cutting through the wreckage and prying the doors open, but the tools were too small to make meaningful progress. Kimball said the trapped driver was yelling that he couldn’t breathe, so he stayed by the man’s side, speaking to him until EMS arrived.

“That’s what you do,” he said. “That’s the way I was raised, to help somebody out who’s in a spot.”

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 Kimball.

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