Truck Driver David Webb Wins Goodyear Highway Hero Award
The selection ceremony was held here March 23 in conjunction with the Mid-America Trucking Show.
Webb won the honor for saving the life of a dump truck driver who was unable to control his vehicle after suffering a heart attack while driving.
Gary Medalis, a Goodyear marketing director, announced the selection. The first-place award from the tire maker includes $5,000, a trophy and a Super Bowl champion-like ring.
Recounting the tale of Webb’s heroics, Goodyear said Webb and his wife, Carol, were driving through Washington state in June when they saw a swerving dump truck.
“Webb pulled up to the dump truck and noticed that its driver was slumped over the steering wheel. As the dump truck slowed, Webb parked his own truck and ran after the still-moving vehicle,” a Goodyear statement said.
“He jumped onto the dump truck’s running board, opened the door, reached inside and applied the brakes, which brought the truck to a stop,” while Carol Webb called 911. David Webb worked with a bystander, pulled out the driver and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation. David Webb said he and the truck driver have become friends.
“David took immediate action to save a fellow truck driver and stop an out-of-control truck that could have injured others,” Goodyear’s Medalis said.
Two other finalists shared the stage with Webb and won prizes:
- Chris Baker of Chicopee, Massachusetts, a driver for Cowan Systems who pulled an unconscious driver from an overturned minivan. The van was on fire when Baker arrived, and he put out the flames with the fire extinguisher in his truck.
- Tim Freiburger of Huntington, Indiana, a driver for Grammer Industries, who pulled a mother and her three children from a car that was upside down in a creek.
