AKRON (Sept. 23, 2014) — Goodyear is accepting nominations for its 32nd North America Highway Hero Award through Nov. 29 on its website.
Goodyear said its Highway Hero Award was established in 1983 to honor truck drivers who put themselves in harm's way to help others. The tire maker will announce the 32nd Highway Hero Award winner next March during the 2015 Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Ky. (Click here to watch a video from this year's Highway Hero Award announcement at MATS.)
This year's Goodyear Highway Hero Award winner, Ivan Vasovic, a truck driver from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., rescued another driver who fell from a burning tanker truck that was hanging over the side of a freeway overpass.
The previous year's winner, Jason Harte, rescued a family of six, including four children, from a crushed minivan.
Goodyear said other past winners include a driver who saved a woman from a gun-wielding attacker, a driver who pulled an elderly man from a car before it was destroyed by an oncoming train, and a driver who jumped into a pond to save a child who was trapped in a rapidly sinking car.
“The Goodyear Highway Hero Award honors truck drivers who help others as they travel the roads and highways of North America,” said Gary Medalis, marketing director, Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems.
“Over the last 30-plus years, we've heard hundreds of stories about the bravery and selflessness of truck drivers. If you know of a driver who has performed a heroic act, please let us know.”
To nominate a truck driver for Goodyear's 32nd Highway Hero Award, click here, fill out the nomination form, then click on the “submit” button.
Goodyear said candidates should meet the following criteria:
- Must be a full-time truck driver;
- Must reside in the U.S. or Canada;
- The heroic incident must have happened in the U.S. or Canada;
- Nominee's truck must have had 12 wheels or more at the time of the incident;
- Nominee must have been on the job—or on the way to or from work, in his or her truck—at the time of the incident; and
- Incident must have taken place between Nov. 16, 2013, and Nov. 16, 2014.
After the Goodyear Highway Hero Award nomination period ends on Nov. 29, Goodyear said the list of eligible Highway Hero Award candidates will be narrowed down to four finalists. A panel of trucking industry judges will later select the 32nd Goodyear Highway Hero.