ABF Teamster Donald Wood has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for his bravery during a blinding snowstorm when he helped an elderly man whose vehicle had gone off the road.

On January 12, 2019, Brother Wood notice some headlights in the snow around 100 yards in the distance while he waited out a bad snowstorm in Liberal Kansas. He noticed the vehicle was not moving. “I knew something was wrong,” said Donald Wood. So he walked in the blizzard towards the headlights and found a small pickup & camper trailer stuck in a snowdrift with a man and dog by a playground slide. “He was so happy to see me,” recalled Brother Wood. “He said he didn’t know where he was and he was afraid he would freeze to death out there. I told him I would stay with him and get him out.”

Donald had a broken shovel he had found at the motel which he used to dig the man out which took over an hour. The elderly man was then able to wait out the storm after moving his vehicle to the motel parking lot. When the man tried to pay Brother Wood for his bravery and help, but Donald did not accept. “It’s hard to see someone stuck in those kinds of conditions,” said Brother Wood. “I just wanted to help him. As a truck driver, the people we meet along the way are all potential customers for the trucking industry. It’s important for us to show up as a positive role model and help where we can.”