OOIDA member earns Highway Angel honor for a second time

A member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is being hailed as a “Highway Angel” for helping a fellow driver following a rollover crash.

On Jan. 11, the Truckload Carriers Association named Tim Olden a recipient of its Highway Angel award. The 52-year-old trucker from North Chesterfield, Va. recently joined Land Line Now to share his story.

In December, Olden was traveling on I-40 through Tennessee when a flatbed passed him going well over the speed limit. Not long after, he saw the driver exit the highway erratically, crashing his vehicle and coming to rest on the driver’s side.

Olden sprang into action, exited the highway and called 911. While waiting for first responders to arrive, he helped the driver out of the wrecked semi. The other driver – who admitted to authorities at the scene that he had fallen asleep at the wheel – managed to walk away with minor injuries.

While Olden’s actions are being applauded as heroic, he said he was just doing the right thing.

“If I were to crash, I would want somebody to stop and check on me,” Olden told Land Line.

This isn’t the first time Olden has been honored for “doing the right thing.” In August 2023, he received the Highway Angel award for helping several crash victims following a wreck in Colorado.

Olden said the recent incident should serve as a cautionary tale to other drivers about the dangers of being tired behind the wheel.

“If you push too hard, something is coming to take everything you’ve worked for away,” he said. “And all it takes in one incident.”

According to TCA’s website, the Highway Angel program began as a way to “recognize professional truck drivers for the exemplary courtesy and courage they have shown others while on North America’s roadways.” Nearly 1,300 truckers have been honored since the program’s inception in 1997. LL

Listen to the full conversation with Highway Angel and OOIDA member Tim Olden below.

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