Truckload Carriers Association names Oklahoma’s Harry Welker
a Highway Angel
Alexandria, Virginia -- Harry Welker of Broken Arrow,
Oklahoma, who is a professional truck driver for Melton Truck Lines, Inc., of
Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers
Association (TCA). Welker is being recognized for helping to subdue a
belligerent man who was involved in a “life and death struggle” with a state
trooper.
On October 22, 2013, at about mid-morning, Welker and a
trainee (who is not currently affiliated with Melton Truck Lines) had stopped
at a rest area on I-70 in Kannapolis, Kansas. As they crossed the parking lot
and entered the restroom facilities, they noticed a Kansas Highway Patrol
trooper had pulled over a van for a traffic violation. It seemed like a routine
matter... but not for long.
While the two men were inside the restroom, the trooper
attempted to identify the occupant of the van. The man was evasive and provided
several different names. Suspicions aroused, the trooper asked the man to get
out of his vehicle and place his hands on the hood of the trooper’s SUV.
However, when he tried placing a handcuff on the man’s wrist, the man became
extremely hostile, attacked the trooper, and placed him in a chokehold.
According to a written account by the superintendent of the Kansas Highway
Patrol, “a life and death struggle then ensued,” as the man punched the officer
several times in the face and tried to gain control of the trooper’s gun.
By the time Welker and the trainee began walking back to
their tractor trailer, the incident had escalated to the point where the man
and the trooper were violently fighting on the ground in the middle of the
parking lot. The man had forced himself on top of the trooper; it appeared it
was only a matter of time before he overpowered him. Welker and the trainee,
who are U.S. Marine Corps veterans, immediately went to help. They tackled the
man, helping to subdue him, but he continued to resist, even when the trooper
used a stun gun. Eventually, with Welker and the trainee’s help, the trooper
was finally able to handcuff and arrest the man, who turned out to be wanted
for parole violations in another state.
“It was my natural reaction to go over there and help. I
didn’t give it a second thought,” said Welker, who spent eight years as a
corrections officer for the state of Missouri and also used to escort prisoners
for the Marines. “I’m not out to get recognition… I’m a concerned citizen who
took action when action needed to be taken.”
The Kansas Highway Patrol has given Welker a plaque for his
selfless actions on that morning. “Mr. Welker, you exhibited a great deal of
bravery when you, unselfishly and without regard to your own safety, responded
to help [our trooper],” states the letter of thanks. “You put yourself in
harm’s way for a State Trooper who you did not know. Your actions undoubtedly
saved [the trooper] from further injury and possibly death.”
For his heroism, TCA has presented its latest Highway Angel
with a certificate, patch, and lapel pin. Melton Truck Lines, Inc., also
received a certificate acknowledging that one of its drivers is a Highway
Angel.
Since the program’s inception in August 1997, hundreds of
drivers have been recognized as Highway Angels for the unusual kindness,
courtesy, and courage they have shown others while on the job.
To nominate a driver or learn more about the program and its
honorees, visit the Highway Angel Web page at
http://www.truckload.org/Highway-Angel or Facebook page at
http://on.fb.me/tcanews. For additional information, contact TCA at (703)
838-1950 or angel@truckload.org.
# # #
TCA is the only national trade association whose collective
sole focus is the truckload segment of the motor carrier industry. The association represents dry van,
refrigerated, flatbed, and intermodal container carriers operating in the 48
contiguous states, as well as Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Representing operators of more than 200,000
trucks, which collectively produce annual revenue of more than $20 billion, TCA
is an organization tailored to specific truckload carrier needs.
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