Mackinnon driver honored as ‘highway angel’

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Nov. 5, 2001) — The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA), Volvo Trucks North America, and Petro Stopping Centers named James Csire of Guelph, Ont., as a “highway angel” for his actions at an accident that could have been much worse were it not for Csire’s skilled driving and quick thinking.

Csire was traveling on I-75 near Tifton, Ga., when he received a warning over his CB that someone “driving crazy” in a red Mustang was heading his way. Csire checked his rearview mirror, saw a woman in a van coming off the exit get behind his rig, and then he saw the Mustang, its flashers on, speeding up the two-lane Interstate. It came up behind a car that was attempting to pass Csire but was not accelerating enough to get out of the Mustang’s way.

Impatient to get around the car, the driver of the Mustang drove onto the grassy median, but the grass was wet, causing the car to spin out of control and back onto the Interstate, right under Csire’s trailer.

“He went spinning sideways, came underneath my trailers, hit the tire carrier, and busted my airlines,” Csire recalled. “He sheared them off with his car.” In the process, Csire sheared the mustang’s roof with his trailer.

“When he went underneath my trailer, he must have ducked down,” Csire said, because as the car came back out, “all you could see was the motor.”

The car continued spinning, traveled back across the median, and crossed the northbound lane, hitting another truck head on, spewing fuel all over the highway, and sending that tractor trailer and another car off the road. In the meantime, Csire’s wheels had locked up, but he managed to veer his rig to the right shoulder and get off the road. The woman who had been in the van behind him also pulled off the road, and Csire jumped out of his truck and ran to check on her.

“She was 15 feet behind me so she saw everything happen,” Csire said. “She was crying and really upset and she had her daughters with her, so I stayed with her to comfort her. I didn’t want to leave her because I was scared she might drive, and she was in no condition to drive with the young girls.”

The woman later phoned her parents, and Csire remained with her until her parents and the state police arrived.

Thankful for Csire’s expertise in handling the situation and his concern, the woman wrote a letter of commendation to Mackinnon Transport on his behalf.

“If it had not been for his driving skills, many lives could have been lost, including those of my three daughters, 4-, 8-, and 10-years old. Our entire family sends a great big thank you to Jim for exercising his driving skills on the highway and for being such a comfort to me at a very traumatic time,” she wrote. “You should be very proud to have a driver of his caliber representing your company.”

Csire credits his not losing control of his vehicle to his more than 30 years of experience. Still, he was more cautious and leery for a while after that incident.

Csire received a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate, and patch for his efforts. Mackinnon Transport also received a certificate for acknowledging a Highway Angel in their midst.

Since its inception in August 1997, the Highway Angel program has recognized hundreds of drivers for the unusual kindness, courtesy, and courage they have shown others while on the job. TCA has received letters and emails from people across the country nominating truck drivers for the program.

TCA is a U.S.-based trade association representing the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry.