Professional truck driver is flown to TCA’s Annual Convention and honored for his random act of kindness – helping a pregnant woman escape from a crushed car

TCA and EpicVue Name Highway Angel of the Year: Josh Grimaldi



LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Each year, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) and its partner EpicVue honor a Highway Angel of the Year who best embodies the spirit of the organization’s Highway Angel program. The 2015 “EpicAngel” is Josh Grimaldi of Springfield, Missouri, a professional truck driver for Prime, Inc., also of Springfield, Missouri.
The recognition ceremony took place Tuesday, March 8, 2016, at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. First, Lance Platt, CEO of the Salt Lake City, Utah-based EpicVue, presented Grimaldi with a trophy and prize, a complimentary EpicVue satellite TV package that includes a 24-inch flat screen TV, a DVR, and a one-year subscription to over 100 channels of DIRECTV programming, including premium channels such as HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and the NFL Sunday Ticket. Then, Nashville recording artist Lindsay Lawler, the official spokesperson of the Highway Angel program, sang one of her songs, appropriately titled “Highway Angel.”
Grimaldi’s good deed took place on a cold and snowy evening in December 2015. As he drove westbound in Nevada on I-80 over Donner Pass, Grimaldi, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, noticed a car attempting to pass him. Unfortunately, it hit an icy patch, fishtailed, hit the back of Grimaldi’s trailer, flipped several times, and finally came to a stop near the edge of the road.  Grimaldi immediately pulled over and ran to the vehicle, which had been severely crushed.
Unable to open the door, Grimaldi yelled to another motorist to call 911 and then ran back to his truck to get his flashlight, which he used to force the door open. Inside, he found a woman who appeared to be in shock. She was screaming that she was pregnant.  After several attempts to calm the injured woman down and encourage her to crawl to him, he climbed into the vehicle and lifted her out of the car.  He then carried her to a nearby embankment and began to assess her injuries. After what seemed like an eternity, another driver stopped to help—fortunately, a nurse on her way home from a nearby hospital. Grimaldi was able to leave the woman with the nurse while he placed strobe lights and reflective safety triangles around the crushed vehicle to warn other vehicles approaching the crash scene. Grimaldi then called 911 and spoke directly with the paramedics about the severity of the situation.
“Josh has only been working as a professional driver for about a year now, but he certainly made a name for himself right away,” said Robert Low, a former TCA chairman and the president and founder of Prime, Inc. “We are very pleased to call him part of our trucking family.”
EpicVue’s Platt said, “I admire what Josh did—and what all of the Highway Angels have done throughout the years. None of them were required to stop and help; they did it freely and on their own. It is our privilege to sponsor this very worthwhile program that recognizes them for their selfless acts of compassion.”
More information about Grimaldi's good deed can be found at truckload.org/Highway-Angel-of-the-Year.
Since its inception in August 1997, the Highway Angels program, sponsored by EpicVue, has recognized hundreds of drivers for the unusual kindness, courtesy, and courage they have shown others while on the job. Archival copies of past Highway Angel press releases can be found at www.truckload.org/newsroom. To learn more about the program or to nominate a driver, go to www.truckload.org/highway-angel.
You can learn about TCA’s activities, including the Highway Angel program, by following the association on Facebook—www.truckload.org/Facebook—and Twitter—www.truckload.org/Twitter.  On both social media sites, you can also learn about this year’s Annual Convention with the hashtag #2016TCA.

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