TORONTO – Over his relatively short 13-year career, Darryn Belanger, a driver with Kriska Transport has been commended by his company — not just once, but three separate times — for acts of heroism and extreme kindness at highway accident scenes.

Those actions have now earned Belanger the 2011 Bridgestone-Ontario Trucking Association Truck Hero Award, presented to Belanger last Friday at the annual OTA conference in Toronto by Leighton Watkins, regional manager for eastern Canada, Bridgestone Canada.

The annual award recognizes professional truck drivers who demonstrate courage, quick thinking and integrity in the face of an emergency.

On July 16, 2011 Darryn was travelling behind another Kriska truck driver, James Monaghan, going westbound on Highway 401 in Mississauga. A car suddenly came up on James’ truck, fishtailed and struck the tractor on the driver’s side. As the car continued to lose control James swerved to avoid another collision, but in the process his truck tipped over on its side and the cab split open as it came down on a steel barrier.

As all this unfolded in front of him, Darryn safely maneuvered to avoid the collision and was able to stop his truck on the right side of the highway. Instinctually and without any hesitation, he ran to James’ truck and found a way inside the crushed cab through a hole in the sleeper. Though in shock, James told Darryn he was trapped and his leg might be broken. Darryn sifted through piles of debris just to get to his fellow driver and was able to free him. At this point, spilled diesel fuel that surrounded the truck had caught fire. Darryn put out some of the flames himself as he pulled his friend out of the cab, while at the same time warning people standing nearby to get away as there was a risk of explosion at any moment.

A first responder arrived on the scene and helped Darryn get James to safety before the ambulance arrived. They applied first aid to James who was also bleeding. Darryn stayed by his co-worker’s side the whole time until he was taken to hospital.
Darryn says that the incident happened so fast that the only thing that went through his mind was James’ well-being. He understood the truck could ignite, but he also knew he only had a few minutes to rescue his friend and he had to act quickly and decisively.

“The adrenaline was pumping and I just focused on the task on hand — getting James out of the truck no matter what,” Darryn says of the incident.

This wasn’t Darryn’s first selfless act while on the job. In a previous incident, Darryn was driving through a snowstorm in Woodstock when he came upon a car that had spun into the ditch at the side of the road. Since no one else stopped, Darryn pulled over to help the two shaken women inside the car. To their relief, Darryn hooked up some chains from his truck to the stuck and pulled it out of the ditch. He then inspected the vehicle before making sure the thankful occupants drove away safely. Another time, Darryn watched a car lose control and hit two other vehicles. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt but Darryn stayed with everyone involved in the accident regardless, offering assistance and support.

“Darryn’s heroic actions not only represent the best in trucking industry, but also the best in humanity,” said Watkins. “It’s truly an honour to recognize him with this award.”

"Darryn is a model professional as evidenced by his selfless act of bravery and kindness,” says Mark Seymour, president of Kriska Transportation. “We’re proud to have Darryn as part of our organization. He quietly goes about his business and is now a hero amongst his peers. Congratulations Darryn from everyone at Kriska."