Four professional truck drivers are the latest to earn the title of TCA Highway Angel, an honor the Truckload Carriers Association hands out to drivers whose split-second decisions turn them into heroes on America’s highways.
Chris Wetzel, Prince Bali, Karamjit Singh Cheema, and Scott Miller each received recognition for stepping in when someone else’s worst day was unfolding before them. Along with the title, TCA presents each Highway Angel a certificate, a lapel pin, patches, and truck decals — and sends a certificate to their employer, too.
The program has been running since 1997, and these four bring the total number of honorees to nearly 1,400. TCA credits presenting sponsor EpicVue and supporting sponsors DriverFacts and Northland Insurance for keeping the recognition going.
Chris Wetzel pulled a deputy from a wreck on I-49
Wetzel drives for Anderson Trucking Service, and on April 1, he was headed south on Interstate 49 near Joplin, Missouri, when a sheriff’s deputy — lights and sirens on, racing to an emergency call — slammed into the trailer of the truck ahead of him.
Wetzel didn’t hesitate. He stopped, ran to the wreck, and worked with others at the scene to pull the injured deputy out of the vehicle. Then he grabbed the officer’s own radio and put out a 10-33 — the code for an officer down — giving dispatch the exact location so help could get there fast.
“We were able to get him out and call for help right away,” Wetzel said.
The deputy was stabilized and taken to a hospital in stable condition. Wetzel stayed on scene until responders no longer needed him.
Asked about it afterward, he shrugged off any notion that what he did was special. “It was intense. We knew we had to act fast,” he said — the kind of understatement that seems to run through most of these stories.
Two team drivers rescued a family and a stranded trucker in a BC snowstorm
Prince Bali and Karamjit Singh Cheema haul freight together for Triple Eight Transport, and on March 17, they were running from Calgary to Abbotsford when heavy snow and a road closure slowed them down near Hope, British Columbia. Once the route reopened, they pushed on carefully through the mountains — and ran straight into a backup of stopped traffic.
That’s when they spotted a family’s vehicle stuck on an uphill grade, with a young boy standing outside it, shivering.
“We saw a young boy standing outside the vehicle, shivering and clearly in distress,” Bali said. “We knew right away we had to turn around and help.”
They turned the truck around. Along the way, they came across a second motorist in trouble — an older truck driver whose 53-foot trailer was buried in snow. Bali and Singh Cheema first stabilized him, then circled back to the family.
Working as a team, they rigged straps from their own truck, with Singh Cheema at the wheel and Bali guiding the pull, and hauled the family’s vehicle free of the snow. They got the car — an electric vehicle that needed a restart — running again and made sure the family was safely back on the road.
“We just wanted to make sure everyone was safe and able to get back on the road,” Singh Cheema said. “That’s what matters most in situations like this.”
Scott Miller ran toward a bus crash that nearly killed him
Miller drives for America’s Service Line, and on March 22, he was near Interstate 43 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, when a tour bus carrying more than 50 people lost control while exiting the highway. The bus shot across multiple lanes, hit a curb, went airborne, and traveled roughly 125 yards before dropping over a 5-foot embankment and coming to rest wedged between two buildings.
“Wow! This bus comes flying across the highway, hits the curb, jumps in the air, and then goes about 125 more yards,” Miller said. “It could have been so much worse.”
He meant that literally — Miller believes the bus nearly hit him. “If I’d been five seconds further down the road, it would have probably killed me,” he said.
At least 41 people were hurt, two critically. Miller called 911, then drew on 32 years behind the wheel to size up the scene before moving in. Inside the wrecked bus, he found passengers trapped and hurt, including Audrey Pierce, who was pinned in the stairwell near the door.
“He stayed on the scene until the police and paramedics arrived,” Pierce said. “He held my hand and talked to me while I was trapped. He kept me awake and talking.”
Miller stayed roughly 90 minutes, helping direct emergency vehicles and supporting first responders while they treated the injured. Many of the passengers were elderly, which made it hit harder.
“They’re basically like your grandma and grandpa,” Miller said. “It really pulls your heartstrings.”
Investigators are still looking into what caused the crash, including possible mechanical failure, and the bus driver has been charged. Miller, for his part, isn’t interested in praise.
“I would never just call 911 and keep going,” he said. “We’re all here to help one another.”
Nominate a driver or read more Highway Angel stories at highwayangel.org. This piece is adapted from reporting by Linda Garner-Bunch for The Trucker, first published July 13, 2026.
