TCA Salutes Highway Angel
Jose Ogas, Jr., of Fayetteville, N.C.
Alexandria, VA, February 24, 2004 – The Truckload Carriers Association
(TCA) recently recognized Jose Ogas, Jr., of Fayetteville, N.C., as a Highway
Angel for saving the lives of a father and his young daughter involved in a serious
accident.
On December 31, Ogas was driving for TMC Transportation
on Highway 70 in Pennsylvania, when he noticed the
driver in front of him kept swerving over the yellow
line
into oncoming traffic. Ogas decided to keep his distance, but suddenly the
car shot off the road and landed upside down. Ogas
immediately got on the CB radio
to call for help and then pulled his rig over and grabbed his fire extinguisher.
The vehicle’s engine was smoking when he arrived, and Ogas couldn’t
see anything inside except a body and blood dripping down the windows. He was
apprehensive at first, but then he heard crying and spotted a little girl in
the back seat. That’s when he decided to act.
"
I knew I had to help her when I saw her moving around," Ogas said. "I
knew it was important for me to get her out."
Fearful the smoking vehicle might explode, Ogas pleaded
with several other motorists to help him. One bystander,
who had emergency medical training, told Ogas he
should not move the child because of the risks involved. "I told him, ‘I
don’t care if I go to jail, I can’t let that girl die,’" Ogas
recalled.
As the men lifted the car, Ogas slid part of his
body through the driver’s
window, grabbed the girl’s legs, and pulled her out. "She grabbed
me by the neck and wouldn’t let go," he said. The girl, about 8-
or 9-years old had a cut on her head and was dizzy, but she was able to tell
Ogas that there was one more person in the car – her father.
Ogas returned to the vehicle, and once again the
men lifted it so he could crawl in to rescue the father.
He got hold of the man by the shoulders and with difficulty
removed him from the car. The man was bleeding and disoriented, but the first
thing he asked about what his daughter. Not wanting to upset him further, Ogas
reassured him that the girl was fine and he kept them separated so that the
father
would not see his child’s bloody face. Ogas had the man lie down, and he
put his jacket under his head. Applying his Army training with a combat lifesaving
team, Ogas was able to administer basic first aid to the man and his young daughter.
"When the paramedics arrived, they told me what I did was really great," he
said. Ogas realizes he saved the lives of two people that day, "and I felt
good about that afterwards."
Ogas received a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate,
and patch for his efforts, and TMC Transportation,
based in Des Moines, Iowa, also received a certificate
for acknowledging a Highway Angel in their midst.
Since its inception in August 1997, the Highway Angel
program has recognized hundreds of drivers for the
unusual kindness, courtesy, and courage they have
shown others while on the job. TCA has received letters and emails from people
across the country nominating truck drivers for the program.
"We continue to be amazed by the number of professional
truckers who go out of their way to help a stranger
and many times put their lives at risk as well," said
Nancy O’Liddy, director of public affairs and marketing for TCA. "TCA
is proud and delighted to offer the kind of program that gives these drivers
the recognition and support they deserve while at the same time creates a greater
public awareness and appreciation for the many outstanding drivers in this
industry."
To view archival copies of past Highway Angel press
releases, visit our website address at www.truckload.org/pressroom/index.htm#angelnews.
To nominate a driver
online, go to www.truckload.org/highwayangels/nominate.asp. For more information
on the program, contact TCA at 703/838-1950 or via email at Angel@truckload.org. 
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