OTTAWA, Ont. – The Canadian government is giving a Medal of Bravery, posthumously, to Mandeep Singh Dhillon, a trucker from Brampton, Ont. who died trying to save a fellow trucker in a 1998 accident.

According to the Governor General of Canada’s website, 21-year-old Dhillon, on a run through Texas, was at a restaurant in Vega, Texas on the afternoon of July 17, 1998 when he heard the crash of a tractor-trailer being struck by another truck. He then ran to the scene to help free a man trapped in the sleeper cabin of the tractor-trailer.

While trying to free him, another transport truck slammed into the wreckage and triggered an explosion.

Dhillon was caught in the fire and suffered severe burns. He died later that day.

Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, will give the medal to Dhillon’s family, as well as give a total of 12 medals recognizing courage and bravery to other recipients, at a ceremony to be held at a later date.

Medals of Bravery recognize people who have risked their lives to save or protect others. More than 2,000 Canadians have received Decorations for Bravery since the award was created by the Queen in 1972. n