New Mexico Man Named Goodyear North American Highway Hero for 2001

LOUISVILLE, Ky., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The winner of Goodyear's 19th annual North American Highway Hero award is Larry ``Scott'' Travis, a professional truck driver from Albuquerque, N.M., who saved a woman's life by pulling her from a burning vehicle just before it exploded.

Travis is a 10-year veteran and a master trainer for Covenant Transportation in Chattanooga, Tenn. He accepted the 2001 Goodyear North American Highway Hero award, along with a $10,000 savings bond and diamond ring at a press conference today at the Mid America Truck Show in Louisville, Ky.

In the early morning hours of August 7, 2001, Travis was traveling just outside Sheridan, Ark., when he saw flames shooting into the air from an SUV that had run off the road into a deep ditch. Bystanders could not tell him if the vehicle was occupied, but Travis thought he saw some slight movement at the driver's side door. Fire extinguisher in hand, he rushed into the deep ditch.

As he approached the vehicle, Travis realized there was a woman behind the wheel, apparently unconscious. Passing his fire extinguisher to another bystander, Travis reached through an opening in the flames to pull the woman from the SUV, suffering burns on his own body in the process. He struggled to pull her through the high overgrowth, and was repeatedly showered with flame and ash. Just seconds after pulling the woman from the vehicle, it exploded.

``Mr. Travis put himself in extreme danger to rescue a total stranger, and demonstrated a courage under pressure that is truly awe-inspiring,'' said Ted Fick, vice president of Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems. ``He embodies the spirit of the Goodyear Highway Hero program.''

Founded by Goodyear in 1983, the North America Highway Hero program recognizes professional truck drivers and the oftentimes unnoticed, life-saving rescues and roadside assistance they provide as their jobs take them across the country.

Travis was nominated for the award during the annual nationwide search for heroic truck drivers for the 2001 North America Highway Hero Program. Five finalists won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Mid-America Trucking Show for themselves and a guest. Each of the other four drivers received a $5,000 savings bond and a commemorative plaque.

The other finalists for the 2001 award were:

* William Clark, York, Pa. -- Traveling on 1-95 near Washington, D.C. in the early morning hours of Nov. 8, 2000, Clark watched another truck burst into flames, swerve severely, and overturn after it collided into a disabled vehicle. Both the car and the truck were engulfed in fire. Clark rushed from his truck to the car, but the female driver had been killed instantly. Turning his attention to the truck, Clark kicked in the rig's cracked windshield, dislodged the driver, and pulled him away from the flames to safety. Clark is a driver for Frito Lay.

* Bill Johnson and Bryan Effle of Norfolk, Neb. -- Shortly after the two Ruan Transportation drivers left the terminal for their respective routes on April 13, 2001, they came upon an overturned car in a ditch along the side of the road. When the pair stopped to investigate, they found that a teenage boy had been ejected from the car and into a nearby ditch filled with water. Johnson and Effle gently lifted the unconscious and badly injured teenager so that his face was out of the water. Johnson continued to hold him while Effle called for help and searched the area for other possible victims. When help arrived, the two drivers helped the paramedics lift the victim out of the ditch and into the ambulance.

* Oscar Gonzalez, Laredo, TX -- The driver of a pickup truck was using his vehicle to push a disabled car along I-35 on June 30, 2001, when construction forced him from the shoulder into the right lane of traffic. As they tried to merge, the pickup truck and automobile were struck from the rear by a tractor trailer. Gonzalez, a driver for Averitt Express, saw the tractor trailer run off the road, and immediately stopped to help. A man and a 6-year-old girl were trapped in the pickup truck, and Gonzalez attempted to douse the flames and free them. The man was trapped, but Gonzalez removed the girl -- who suffered third-degree burns -- from danger. He then assisted the four victims from the other car, moving them away from danger. Gonzalez provided aid and comfort to the victims, especially the young girl, and remained with her until EMS arrived on the scene.

To nominate a professional truck driver for the 2002 Goodyear Highway Hero Award, please visit Goodyear's Commercial Tire web site at www.goodyear.com/truck .

Goodyear Commercial Tire Systems offers products and services to the trucking industry, including a complete range of original equipment and replacement tires, and the industry's most extensive sales, retread and services network