Several witnesses in Illinois are trying to identify a truck driver who, on his own, stopped a driver traveling the wrong way by jumping out of his truck and grabbing the steering wheel.
The incident took place on Saturday, August 15, on I-70 eastbound near State Route 4 in Madison County, Illinois.
According to Fox2Now, a disoriented driver managed to travel three miles in the wrong direction on I-70 before the truck driver stopped him. Witnesses Cammi and Greg Pierce say they weren’t quite sure what to do, but they knew they had to do something or people could die.
“My husband started honking the horn. I started waving my hands to try to get his attention,” explained Cammi Pierce. “He was slumped over the steering wheel. You could tell he was having some kind of medical problem or something,” added Greg.
Just as the couple was considering blocking the oncoming driver with their own vehicle, a truck driver noticed what was happening and decided to take action.
The truck driver pulled his big blue truck over into the traffic lanes and ran toward the van, which was moving slowly and partially on the grassy shoulder by the time he reached it. The truck driver then yanked open the van’s driver’s door, grabbed the steering wheel, and finally managed to bring the vehicle to a stop.
Cammi recorded the driver’s efforts on video, while Greg ran to help stop the van. Greg says that, once the initial chaos had subsided, he went to look for the truck driver, but he had already left.
“I looked around to thank the truck driver, but he was already gone,” Greg said.
Now, the couple has shared the video on social media in the hope of finding the truck driver so he can be properly recognized for his quick reaction.
“Our intention is, quite literally, for the social media community to help us find this driver so we can thank him as well,” said Cammi Pierce.
“It was truly impressive that he had enough human compassion to jump out of his truck, risk his own life, catch up to that van, and save that man from dying—and possibly several other people as well,” she said.
Below is a video of the incident.
