Professional truck drivers are usually called into service to transport products. In the case of Bill Bowering, a driver for H.O. Wolding Inc. of Amherst, his work on April 28 also involved saving a life after a deadly rollover accident.

Bowering was driving southbound on 1-57 near Mattoon, Ill., when a vehicle with three young women in it passed him on the left-hand side. As it reentered the right lane, the driver hit a pothole, apparently overcorrected and lost control of the vehicle, which flipped over and slid into the ditch. The H.O.W employee pulled his truck over, got out and ran over to the wrecked vehicle to assist. When he arrived, he found two women climbing out of the wreck with another woman still trapped inside.  He entered the vehicle and assessed her condition: No pulse and no signs of breathing.

Many other vehicles passed by the crash but none of them stopped until another driver, a paramedic, pulled over and attempted to unsuccessfully revive the woman. Bowering then was able to turn his attention to the other two women. He did his best to console them and ease their grief until authorities arrived on the scene.

For his efforts, Bowering was recently named a Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Highway Angel. For his valiant efforts, Bill received a Highway Angel lapel pin, certificate and patch.

“Bill is an all around nice guy and very modest,” says H.O.W driver manager Deb Senechal, who nominated him for the award. “When Bill relayed to me what had happened, all he could think about was, ‘I was too late. I couldn’t do anything about the driver,’ but I told him, ‘You did your best and tried everything you could to save her and that is all you can do. If you could have done any more, you would have.’” 

During the past 15 years, the Highway Angel program has recognized hundreds of truck drivers across North America who are making a positive difference in the lives of the people with whom they share the road.  

“We are very proud that one of our drivers had the foresight to react so courageously in the face of such a severe, life-threatening accident,” says Marc Wolding, H.O.W vice president of operations. “Bill Bowering is to be commended on his quick thinking and his ability to handle the situation with strength and determination.”

CRW Readers Speak

Curtis Waltz, Aerialscapes Inc.

“Attached are a few shots of me and my latest issue yesterday in a Cessna over southeast Wisconsin,” says Curtis Waltz, owner of Aerialscapes Inc. of Sussex. “Another business owner, Sue Szymczak of Safeway Sling, recommended that I subscribe to Corporate Report a few years ago. It's been a great resource for seeing what's going on around the state as well as general business strategy.”

Waltz started his commercial aerial photography business in 2002, covering the entire southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois region, shooting stills and video for a variety of clients, including advertising agencies, business owners, construction companies, developers, retailers and engineers. Company projects range from weekly airplane flights over major construction projects to shooting the new Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago from a helicopter at dawn. 

More information, as well as several portfolios, can be found at www.aerialscapes.com.

By the Numbers

Five items from the 2010 Beloit College Mindset List
Almost two million first-year students are now in their first few days of college classes this month. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990. Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List, to provide a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of those new college students:

• The Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
• Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
• Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
• IBM has never made typewriters.
• The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.