FIRESTONE, Colo. – – Ask any driver. Roadside heroics don’t necessarily put food on the table.

On the other hand, you never know how a good deed might pay off in the end.

Take the case of Jorge Orozoco-Sanchez.

Last fall, the trucker from Firestone, Colo., saved the lives of two children after the SUV in which they were passengers veered into his path. The kids’ 27-year-old mom was driving the vehicle and she died but Orozoco-Sanchez pulled the children from the vehicle before it –and his tractor — were consumed in flames.

Earlier this year, at the Mid America Trucking show in Louisville, Ky., Orozoco-Sanchez was honored as a Goodyear Highway Hero. In addition to a plaque, a specially designed ring and a Goodyear GPS unit, the owner-operator who had been hauling grain at the time of the accident, received a US$10,000 Savings Bond.

(For more on the program and to see how you can nominate a driver for the honor, click here).

Here’s what the vice president Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems Joseph Copeland had to say at the time: "Though modest about the rescue, Jorge should feel proud of his actions. His heroics and those of the truck drivers honored through this award are truly inspiring."

Honored perhaps, but he was also stuck without a truck. That when what went around started to come around.

The Owner Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) helped the driver put together a plan to finance a 2005 Freightliner Columbia and get a grant for an APU from SmartWay. But his expenses — for insurance, taxes, titles and licensing fees — continued to mount.

Then, the board of directors of an organization called the Truck Writers of North America (TWNA) which consists of journalists specializing in the heavy-duty trucking industry (including the staff writers and editors at todaystrucking.com) voted to pay half his insurance down payment ($700) and seek donations for the rest.

Within weeks, TWNA’s member companies (listed below) donated an additional $2,300 to flesh out the $700. The $3,000 proved more than enough to get Orozoco-Sanchez back in business.

“I’m honored to be a part of such a giving community of people,” stated Tom Kelley, executive director of TWNA. “We know that times are tough for everyone right now but it’s moments like this that bring out the best in our industry.”

Added TWNA member and Editor of Today’s Trucking Magazine Peter Carter “I’m pretty proud of my fellow reporters on this matter. Yes, we do write about truckers, but we do right by them, too.”

The TWNA member companies who contributed to Orozoco-Sanchez’ return to work were: Shell Lubricants, ArvinMeritor, Bendix, Truck-Lite, Nancy Bingham & Caterpillar, SKF Group, SAF-Holland, and Eaton/RoadRanger.