Brave UPS owner-op honored for heroism
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The title of ‘hero’ gets thrown around quite liberally and undeservedly. That surly isn’t the case with Jorge Orozco Sanchez — a true hero by any definition.
With his gentle voice quaking and tears in his eyes as he recalled the events that led him to this evening, Sanchez accepted the prestigious Goodyear North American Highway Hero Award at the Truck Writers of North America awards banquet last night.
The Colorado UPS owner-operator was the clear choice for the award. Last October, saved two young girls from a burning car.
Orozco Sanchez was hauling grain on Oct. 28, 2008 on Highway 392, north of Greeley, Col., when an SUV suddenly crossed the center line and crashed head-on into his tractor-trailer rig. After impact, the truck pushed the SUV backward down the road for about 200 feet.
of UPS driver Jorge Orozco Sanchez
As the vehicles stopped, a shaken Orozco Sanchez quickly jumped from his cab and went to the other vehicle. There, with flames already beginning to surround the vehicles, he saw two girls strapped into their car seats and crying, and a woman up front who was not moving. Working with a passer-by who used a fire extinguisher to fight back the flames, Orozco Sanchez freed the two girls.
He removed the second girl just before the saddle fuel tanks ruptured and exploded, creating an inferno. Sadly, the 27-year-old mother died.
The brave truck driver sustained burns on his arms from the rescue and was taken to a nearby hospital. The fire reduced the cab and the SUV to rubble.
"Jorge’s quick thinking and bravery will be reflected in the lives of these two girls, just one and four years old, in years to come. It is our hope that their friends and family, including the girls’ father, Colin Nicklas, may find comfort in the saving of these two young lives," said Joseph Copeland, vice president, Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems.
Founded in 1983, the Goodyear North America Highway Hero program recognizes professional truck drivers and the often unnoticed, life-saving rescues and roadside assistance they provide as their jobs take them across North America.
Orozco Sanchez received a $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond, a plaque, a Goodyear GPS unit and a specially designed ring.
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