Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has named Trimac Transportation driver Oleksandr Tkachuk a TCA Highway Angel.

Tkachuk, from Edmonton, was honored for stopping and administering CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on the side of the road during a medical emergency, according to a TCA news release.

On May 5, in Hardisty, Alta., Tkachuk, an independent contractor out of Trimac’s Hardisty branch, pulled over to assist a vehicle stopped on the shoulder.

“On the side of the road I saw a vehicle and two young people were helping a young man, probably about 25, who was on the ground,” Tkachuk said in the release. “I didn’t see anyone else so I thought that I should stop.”

Administered CPR

Tkachuk realized the man on the ground was unconscious, and what appeared to be his crying younger brother trying to administer CPR. The man was unresponsive. Tkachuk asked if he could help, since he has CPR training, and took over.

“I was trained in CPR and I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to use it in my life, but I needed to use it — I was doing chest compressions for this guy who was on the ground,” he said.

The young man and young woman who were at the scene held the phone up, with 911 dispatch personnel on the phone talking Tkachuk through the procedure. He performed CPR for about 20 minutes, until emergency personnel arrived and took over.

The young man never regained consciousness while he was there. “I was hoping to see if he survived or not, but I don’t know,” he said. “I was doing what I was trained to do.”