Christopher Lemaire, a professional truck driver for Revere Transportation, has once again been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA). He is being recognized for his willingness to detain a drunken driver involved in a hit and run.
Lemaire is no stranger to the Highway Angels program. He’s been nominated twice before for coming to the aid of motorists in need; one was a fellow truck driver who collapsed from a heart attack. Lemaire has been driving off and on for 15 years and is a former patrol officer, so he has seen more than his share of serious accidents out on the road. Today, he’s transitioning into a new role as an operations manager in the open deck division of his current employer, Revere Transportation.
On May 2, Lemaire was once again called into action. He and another Revere driver, driving two trucks, were out on the road, working on a dedicated run. They were eastbound on Interstate 76 near Philadelphia, and Lemaire was in the lead. As he entered a curve, a car came up from behind at a high rate of speed, passed him and lost control. The driver hit the embankment on the right side of the road, went airborne over the hood of Lemaire’s cab and crashed against the concrete embankment on the other side of the road. Lemaire safely came to a stop, positioning the trailer to block two lanes of traffic. He quickly called his partner, advised him on the situation and told him to continue on to their destination.
Lemaire then ran to check on the driver. Although the car was badly damaged and the wheels were dismantled, the driver was trying to leave the scene. Lemaire told him to take his foot off the gas, but the man was belligerent. Lemaire could allegedly smell alcohol on his breath. He reached in and put the vehicle in park. The man then exited the vehicle and attempted to get into another car that was slowly moving past the scene. Lemaire managed to grab the man and moved him to the concrete embankment where he forcibly detained him until the state police arrived just minutes later.
Lemaire identified himself to the troopers who thanked him for getting involved and told him the driver had just hit two other vehicles a couple miles back and fled the scene.
For his willingness to assist his fellow drivers, TCA has presented Lemaire with a certificate, patch, lapel pin and truck decals. Lemaire’s employer has also received a certificate acknowledging their driver as a Highway Angel. Since the program’s inception in August 1997, hundreds of drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the exemplary kindness, courtesy and courage they have displayed while on the job. EpicVue sponsors TCA’s Highway Angel program.
