Truck Driver Honored for Rescuing Injured 12-year-old Snowmobiler

Dawana Jacobsen Source: Highway Angel

A Winnipeg truck driver has been named a Highway Angel for stopping to help others in need. Dawna Jacobsen, who drives with Erb Transport Ltd out of New Hamburg, Ontario was recently recognized by the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) after she leapt into action while driving along an area highway one winter day—spying a 12-year-old boy whose snowmobile had crossed into traffic and was struck by another vehicle.

On a cold December evening in Northern Ontario, Jacobsen encountered something unexpected while driving down Highway 11 just west of Kapuskasing around 6PM.

“I saw something coming toward me, I saw lights that were not from the cars, and I just knew something wasn’t right,” she said. “I slowed down, put my flashers on and pulled over to not get hit by what I thought was a large box — it turned out to be a Ski-doo (snowmobile) coming at me.”

Jacobsen happened to be the first on the scene. She noticed not only the strange lights in the distance, but also a pickup truck suddenly stopping, and she immediately took action to slow her vehicle and stop. Her quick thinking was able to protect the boy from further harm by signaling to other motorists that something had happened – alerting a southbound truck in time to stop before running the injured boy over.

Upon exiting her vehicle and approaching the scene she discovered a 12-year-old boy who had been seriously injured. She noticed his legs were “mangled, and immediately called 911. Two additional motorists stopped to assist while they waited for medical personnel who arrived on the scene within 15 minutes.

It turned out that the boy had been with a group of his friends traveling on Ski-doo snowmobiles. The others had crossed the highway without incident, but this boy didn’t make it in time. He was struck by an unknown vehicle and sustained serious injuries. Jacobsen eventually provided officers with the video footage from her truck to help.

Tom Boehler, TCA’s senior director of safety and compliance reviewed the footage captured on Jacobsen’s dash cam and noted that by all counts if she had not taken the maneuver to the right, the oncoming truck would have driven over the boy. When that vehicle saw her stop, he stopped as well on the busy road. Her quick thinking prevented a bad situation from getting any worse. Her ability to leap into action likely saved that boy’s life.

“We are grateful and honored to have a professional and alert driver like Dawna on our team,” said Sheldon Wheeler, a spokesperson for Erb Transport. “Her ability to recognize potential danger and to react appropriately helped save a young boy’s life.”

Source: Highway Angel