Anthony Martin Jr. Rescues Driver

on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 in Awards & Recognition

Anthony Martin Jr. was leaving Nebraska on I-80 East when he saw the car in front of him swerve out of control and hit the metal railing. The car rolled across the highway, slammed into the other railing, and came to rest with the driver side door pinned against the ground. Anthony immediately slowed down, and parked his truck a safe distance away from the car. He ran to the vehicle to check on the driver.
 
“I wanted to get him out as soon as possible. I asked the man if he was ok and he said yes, but that he was trapped,” said Anthony. “I checked the car. I was looking for a way to get him out.”

Anthony circled the car checking to make sure there was no immediate danger. He noticed the car had a sun roof, but it wouldn’t open. Then Anthony climbed up on the side of the car leaning against the railing. He opened the passenger side door and reached down to pull the driver out.

“I was running on pure adrenaline,” said Anthony.

He was able to pull the man out and take him a safe distance away from the accident. Luckily, the man was wearing his seatbelt so he sustained only minor injuries and cuts. By this time other vehicles had pulled over. Anthony found out that the reason the man swerved was because another tractor trailer had cut too closely in front of him. His reaction was to jerk the steering wheel away in panic.

The tractor trailer driver that had cut the driver off also pulled over. First, he checked on the driver and then was able to extinguish a small fire that had begun in the engine. An ambulance was called to make sure the driver didn’t suffer a concussion or any other injuries.

“He had a cut on his right arm, but he didn’t have any major injuries,” reported Anthony. “His eyes were big. It was clear he was in shock. He even wanted to go back to his car to save his belongings. I didn’t let him because of the engine fire.”

After the scene had calmed, Anthony climbed back into his TMC truck and continued his journey east towards Iowa. The man was in a stable condition, and some other drivers said they would stay with him until the ambulance came. Before Anthony was able to leave though, the man thanked him profusely for getting him to safety.

“I had to stop,” said Anthony. “I wouldn’t have been able to go through the rest of my day knowing that I hadn’t stopped. I hope someone would do the same for me if I was in that situation.”

Later when Anthony spoke to his wife about the event he said it was his “good deed for the day." This was much more than a typical good deed. TMC would like to thank Anthony for his heroic behavior. He acted quickly and safely. We appreciate his willingness to help others.