For the second time in just a few weeks, an SCH (Supplies) Ltd delivery driver has gone to the rescue of a stricken motorist in dramatic circumstances.

 

James Bass was heading north up the M6 motorway in the West Midlands when he heard a blow-out on a 40ft lorry which was in front of him. He then saw a large piece of shredded tyre fly past the window of his truck.

 

“The next thing I knew, the lorry started careering dangerously out of control and went over on its side. It somehow managed to almost wrap itself around a concrete upright bridge support. If it had gone a foot or so the wrong way the consequences could have been much worse,” says James.

 

Braking sharply, James came to a standstill on the hard shoulder just past the lorry. A lady driver who had been following directly behind the lorry had also stopped and was naturally quite shaken by what had just happened. She indicated to James that the driver was still in the cab.

 

“I think autopilot kicked in,” he says. “I climbed up the front of the truck and tried to wrench the door open but it wouldn’t move.”

 

James then realised that the lorry was a left hand drive and because of the way it had landed, the driver was at the bottom of the cab, furthest away from the open window.

 

“I had no choice but to reach right down and pull him up and out of the vehicle to safety. He was quite a big guy so believe me, it took all my strength to haul him up but it’s amazing what adrenaline can do when you know you have to help someone!”

The Russian driver could barely speak any English but amazingly appeared not to be too badly hurt. James waited for a paramedic and the police to arrive, and gave his statements. He then climbed back into his own cab and continued his journey and made his deliveries.

 

“Someone asked if I feel like a hero,” he says. “I really don’t. It’s a natural thing to want to give assistance in a situation like that. I hope I’m never involved in an accident myself but I would like to think that if I was, there would be someone out there who would stop to help me too.”

Once again, SCH say they feel immensely proud of James, just as they did with Vince recently when he rescued the driver of the fireball Ferrari.

 

“We do seem to be turning into some kind of International Rescue, and may have to rename the company delivery vehicles Thunderbird One, Two, Three and Four,” says managing director Andrew Rodwell.

“We have not been particularly surprised by the actions of our drivers. They have always been the sort of people we can rely on so it’s not difficult for us to understand their reactions when faced with the choice of whether to help out or just drive on.”