The Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has recognized Ben Eastman of Chesapeake VA as a Highway Angel for stopping to assist the victim of a drive-by shooting. He will receive a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate, and patch for his efforts. Howell Motor Freight Inc, the refrigerated LTL carrier that employs Eastman, also will receive a certificate.
About 2 am Aug 6, 1999, Eastman was making a delivery for Howell when he noticed a car with flashing lights stopped along Interstate 695 in Maryland. Concerned that someone needed assistance, he pulled his vehicle over and walked up to investigate.
"I saw an arm hanging out the window," Eastman said. As he circled the vehicle, he noticed bullet holes in the passenger-side door. Inside he found a young woman, Charlene Clark, with two bullet wounds in her leg. She had been the victim of a random shooting and had never seen her assailant.
"It kind of scared me because Ididn't know if the people who shot her were still around," Eastman said. Despite the risk, he called for assistance on his CB radio, returned to the vehicle, helped move it further to the side of the road, and then stayed with Clark until the ambulance arrived.
Clark later wrote a letter of thanks to Eastman, saying, "Thanks to you, I am always reassured when there is a trucker nearby. A cellular phone will be my next acquisition, because you can't always count on having a hero come by."
