Chesterfield truck driver named ‘highway angel’ after helping crash victims

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT) - A Chesterfield truck driver is being hailed a hero after jumping into action at the scene of a crash while on his route in Colorado back in July.

For more than three decades, Timothy Olden has enjoyed his work behind the wheel.

“We do what we can when we can,” said Olden. “You got to help people every now cause if you don’t, they always say karma is the worst thing in the world.”

Olden drives for Decker Truck Lines out of Fort Dodge, Iowa and has driven across the country.

On July 20, Olden was driving east along I-70 near Stratton, Colorado, when he came upon a crash. During this, a car crossing the median was T-boned by a pickup truck pulling a camper.

“People were still inside, the hood was up, and the right side was caved in from where they got T-boned,” Olden told NBC12.

Olden and a flatbed driver from another company quickly jumped into action.

“The car was in the median strip, there was smoke coming from it,” Olden told NBC12. “He stopped, I stopped. I grabbed my fire extinguisher.”

When Olden got to the car, he said the doors were jammed and still locked.

“The lady couldn’t reach the thing, so we had to pop the back driver’s side glass out so we could get the door open,” said Olden.

Once the woman got out, Olden and a trauma nurse, who also stopped at the scene, worked to get the other passenger out.

“The center console was caved over towards him cause he was in the passenger seat, and we pulled it to where he could get out,” said Olden.

Olden stayed with the passengers at the scene until first responders arrived.

“We had them sitting in the median strip in lawn chairs with umbrellas on them until EMS got there,” he said.

A heroic act, Olden said, is just part of his job.

“It’s just luck of the draw, being in the right place at the right time to be able to help,” he told NBC12.

Olden and his actions aren’t going unnoticed. Olden was named a “Highway Angel” as part of a program by the Truckload Carriers Association.

“It’s part of our job, it’s part of our job,” said Olden.

A good deed the third-generation truck driver said was the right thing to do.

“People got to realize a lot of times when accidents happen, it’s on the public to be able to help because you don’t know people that’s inside could be unconscious,” he told NBC12. “They can’t make the calls. You have to do it for them.”

Since the program’s inception in 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been named “Highway Angels” for their kindness, courtesy, and courage.

To learn more about this program from the Truckload Carriers Association, click here.