The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named Bison Transport driver Davinder Singh Chahal of Winnipeg, a TCA Highway Angel for stopping to help an injured woman at a crash site.

Chahal was the first on the scene of an accident on the morning of May 16 on Hwy. 1 near Hwy. 206 in Winnipeg. Many other vehicles passed by without stopping, according to a news release.

A woman, Yvonne, sustained serious injuries and Chahal cared for her until emergency medical services and the RCMP arrived.

“I said, she needs help — she had glass all over her, so I cleaned it off her feet and her body, like she was my mother,” said Chahal, who is originally from India. “This is my duty, because this country — Canada — has given me a lot, and sometimes you have to repay that.”

Chahal continued to look after her, comforting her to try to keep her calm. Medical staff arrived and took her away in an ambulance.

Days after the incident, Yvonne contacted Bison Transport to express her gratitude to Chahal, who had never mentioned any of the details to his dispatch. No one would have known about his kindness if it wasn’t for her calling in.

“Then she called me one day and said, ‘I’m alive because you saved me,’” Chahal said. “She attached with me emotionally — she told me, ‘I am your mother.’”