Karl Scholl, a driver from Calgary, AB was named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) for stopping to help a couple who landed in the ditch during icy road conditions.

The Bison Transport driver was traveling near Moyie, B.C. one December morning when he noticed other drivers flashing their lights, signaling that there was something up ahead.

“The roads were in poor condition from ice and snow,” he recalled. “As I crested a hill, I saw a black pickup towing a 12-foot U-Haul in the ditch.” A couple was standing on the narrow shoulder, he said. They had lost control on black ice and their truck had crossed the center line and landed in the ditch at an angle. They had managed to climb out and make their way up to the road.  

Scholl positioned his truck and trailer as a barricade to prevent other drivers from sliding into the motorists. “I put on my safety vest and jumped out to check on the couple,” he said. He also grabbed some traffic cones.

Although shaken and scared, the couple told Scholl they were okay and had already called for a tow truck. Scholl invited them, and their two border collies, to wait in his truck and assured them everything would be okay. He then set up traffic cones behind his truck to alert other drivers and began directing traffic in both directions to prevent the scene from becoming worse.  

He stayed on scene for two hours until the couple’s truck and U-Haul were pulled from the ditch.

In a letter to Bison Transport, the couple Scholl helped said that “not only did (Karl) help us on this very unpredictable and frightening morning, but he restored faith in our hearts that human kindness and caring goes a long way on a very cold December morning. Thanks to Karl we have learned to pay it forward and we will always stop to lend a hand to those on the road in need. Thank you Karl we are forever grateful.”  

TCA has presented him with a certificate, patches, lapel pin, and truck decals. The company has also received a letter acknowledging him as a Highway Angel.

The TCA also named David Horton from Kernersville, N.C. a driver with Best Dedicated; and Dave Stuckey, from Brackenridge, PA, a driver with Ward Trucking as Highway Angels.

Since the program’s inception in 1997, nearly 1,300 professional truck drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the exemplary kindness, courtesy, and courage they have displayed while on the job.