(RightWing.org) – The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) launched its Highway Angel program in 1997 to recognize truck drivers who exhibited “exemplary courtesy and courage” while traveling the nation’s highways and byways. The association recently recognized a driver as an Angel after he helped save around 15 children from traffickers.
The TCA recently posted a press release detailing the incredible story of a trucker named Michael who stumbled across human traffickers transporting several children in a cage mounted to the back of a pickup truck. The statement excluded his name and the exact location of the incident to protect his identity.
On June 18, Michael was parked at a rest stop in a border state along the I-10 corridor shortly after midnight. A pickup truck parked in front of him, and a woman exited the vehicle. She walked to the back of the truck and lifted a tarp, revealing a locked cage. The woman unlocked the cage, and three or four young girls dropped down to the ground. Michael said they weren’t any older than three or four.
The woman locked the cage again and escorted the girls to the reststop’s bathroom. They returned to the pickup a few minutes later and put the girls back into the cage.
That’s when Michael decided to spring into action. He approached the pickup to read its license plates and called the police. Michael said the driver must have observed him because the pickup quickly started speeding away.
Undeterred, Michael hopped into his big rig and followed the fleeing car. He recounted that at one point, the pickup had about a two to three-mile lead over him. Thankfully, the police pulled the vehicle over in short order. Michael said they suddenly “came out of everywhere.”
The truck driver said he waited on the side of the road for police officers to take his statement. They told him, “This [situation] happens all the time.” The officers also related that the families of some of the children had already reported them missing.
After taking his statement, police officers advised Michael to leave in case other human traffickers were watching. He later estimated that the criminals were transporting about 15 children in the cage.
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