Truckload Carriers Association announces 2021 Highway Angel of the Year

Christopher Lloyd, a driver for Airline Transportation Specialists Inc., Eagan, Minn., was chosen by a public vote of more than 1,600 participants as this year’s Truckload Carriers Association Highway Angel of the Year.

The award, sponsored by EpicVue, was presented during Truckload 2022: Las Vegas at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Lloyd’s Highway Angel nomination came after he helped rescue a driver and passenger from their vehicle that started on fire after they crashed into power pole on an early morning in November 2020, according to a TCA news release.

After calling 911, Lloyd attempted to extinguish the flames before pulling the victims to safety.

“I couldn’t get the flames out completely,” Lloyd said in the TCA news release. “I ran back to the truck for a winch bar and my 10-pound hazmat extinguisher to finish putting the fire out and to bust out the windows.”

Both individuals were in critical condition once emergency personnel were able to reach them, according to the news release. If not for Lloyd calling 911, the pair might not have made it, said an officer on the scene.

“That wasn’t my normal run that night,” Lloyd said in the TCA news release. “The driver that usually takes that run had broken down. The dispatcher called and asked if I could take it. I was delayed by over an hour, but somehow it all lined up for me to be there at that precise moment in time to hopefully save their lives.”

Lloyd, a Forest, Miss., resident, attended firefighter academy after becoming a volunteer firefighter at 16. He also spent time in the Coast Guard.

All of that training came back to him, “Just like it was yesterday,” he said in the news release.

Other Highway Angel finalists for the 2021 award were OOIDA member and driver for McKinney, Texas-based CKJ Transport Addis Tekelu, and Calvin and Corey Williams, twin brothers and drivers for Armellini Express Lines Inc., Palm City Fla. LL