ORLANDO, Fla. – Ed and Tracy Zimmerman never imagined they'd be up on stage at the Truckload Carriers Association convention in Orlando.
The two are long-haul truckers and have been all over the country. On Tuesday, they were awarded the “Highway Angel of the Year” award for being at the right place at the right time.
“When I stopped and realized we had to help it became to where fear was not an option and I told my husband, I said, ‘I don’t care what happens to us, we have to get him out of that car,’” Tracy Zimmerman said.
On May 25, 2019, the Zimmermans stopped at a crash scene while driving on the turnpike in West Virginia.
They noticed a man was trapped inside a burning car after he fell asleep behind the wheel.
"We jumped out and we ran over there and there was another gentleman with a crowbar broke the window out and Tracy and I started to drag the guy out," Ed Zimmerman explained.
Moments later, the victim's car exploded sending debris all over the place. The Zimmermans said they tried to drag the victim as far away as possible.
“We were there for a total of 36 minutes, it seemed liked hours, but that 36 minutes changed our lives and it changed his life,” Ed said.
The story made front page news in West Virginia about two good Samaritans who stopped to help a stranger in need.
The couple later learned the victim was on his way to his daughter's birthday the day of the crash.
He was taken to the hospital and has recovered from his injuries.