Team drivers pull crash victims from leaking truck on I-280
Debra and David Beal stopped after a rollover near Davenport, Iowa, and helped two occupants climb out before fuel ignited.
What should a driver do when fuel is leaking from a rollover?
Debra and David Beal, team drivers for Boyle Transportation, pulled two crash victims from an overturned truck leaking fuel on Interstate 280 near Davenport, Iowa, on August 30. The Truckload Carriers Association named them Highway Angels for the rescue.
Debra was driving eastbound when she saw a truck in the westbound lanes lose control and cross the median into their path. She backed off to avoid the collision. The truck rolled onto its side after coming to a stop.
She stopped their truck and woke David. He got dressed while she called 911. When they reached the overturned truck, they found a man and woman trapped inside. The truck was lying on its side, making it hard for the occupants to climb out. Fuel was leaking from the vehicle.
"Normally you wouldn't move somebody, but with the fuel leaking, we weren't sure what was going to happen," Debra said. "We're like, we've got to get you out of here."
How the Beals got the occupants out
David held the truck's door open and extended his leg into the cab so the female passenger could grab his foot and pull herself up and out. Another truck driver who stopped helped the male occupant exit.
"She looked like she was very much in shock," Debra said. "They weren't, like, bleeding or anything, but they could have had internal stuff going on."
The male occupant was holding his shoulder after he got out. Law enforcement and paramedics arrived shortly after the Beals and the other driver removed both occupants. The Beals stayed at the scene until emergency responders took over.
Why drivers stop
"I would hope if we flipped over, somebody would do that for us," Debra said. "I would hope, you know, just leave us there."
David and Debra have been truck drivers for about five and a half years. They have been married for 37 years.
The Highway Angel program recognizes professional truck drivers who stop to help at crash scenes or medical emergencies. The Beals join a long list of drivers who have stopped runaway trucks and pulled victims from wrecks in the past year.
If you see fuel leaking from a rollover, the standard advice is to stay back and wait for fire crews. The Beals made a judgment call that the occupants needed to get out before the fuel ignited. That call saved two lives.
