Hero on the Highway: Driver Duane Largent Honored for His Actions

A few months ago, Averitt dedicated driver Duane Largent was entering Indiana when he came upon the unexpected. Duane noticed a truck driver ahead of him who suddenly put on his brakes and pulled over to the shoulder.

“I went to the left lane and started passing him,” recalls Duane, who has been with Averitt for about five years. “I got about halfway on his trailer, and he put his arm out of the window, and it was covered in blood. That was an attention-getter.”

It turned out the other driver had been shot by a passenger in a nearby SUV. Duane didn’t think twice, pulling over, calling 911 and giving assistance to the wounded man, who had suffered gunshot wounds to the neck and mouth.

“He needed somebody immediately,” Duane says. “With nobody stopping, he would have bled out right there on the interstate in his seat. It was amazing what he was able to do for himself, pulling over, grabbing a towel to apply pressure on his neck. I did what I would hope anybody would do. Unfortunately, I was the only one who stopped for him. I did what I could do as fast as I could do it.”

The man was transported by helicopter to a hospital, but Duane’s sense of duty didn’t stop there. Duane relayed information that the driver provided him to law enforcement, which led to an arrest just days later.

Duane was also able to contact the driver’s niece, who provided updates on his health. The driver is still in the midst of a long road to recovery, having gone through several surgeries. But Duane hopes to speak to him when he is able.

For Duane, his response was simply the Golden Rule in action.

“I would hope somebody would stop for me like I did,” Duane says. “If I ever got into a situation like that, I would want somebody to stop for me. People many times think, ‘I don’t want to get involved.’ But that’s somebody’s life. You need to do what you can.”

Because of his actions, Duane was recently honored by the Trucking Industry Defense Association as its 2024 Hero of the Highway! Thank you, Duane, for your commitment to helping others and for giving lifesaving help to someone in need!

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