It was a mild evening near Monroe, Michigan when Eric Melo saw a chain of red brake lights appear on the highway in front of his truck.
As the Mill Creek Motor Freight driver braked carefully, he realized other vehicles weren’t reacting to a simple fender bender or a common police speed post. He saw plumes of smoke and licks of flames emerging from a vehicle moving slowly on highway ahead.
Eric immediately put his four-ways on and moved over to the right lane, where he shielded traffic from the burning Jeep.
“Eventually he stopped because, I’m guessing that the smoke was so bad inside the car that he couldn’t see anymore,” recalls Eric.
At that point he parked about 50 yards behind the Jeep on the paved shoulder, grabbed his fire extinguisher, and leaped out of his truck.
“I remember saying out loud to myself, please, God, don’t let me die today. And then I raced over.”
Watch Eric’s tell his heroic tale on Youtube:
When Eric got to the Jeep, he couldn’t see anyone inside through the thick smoke, so he unloaded his fire extinguisher to repel back the flames. He then noticed the passenger door was open, but only a man behind the driver’s seat was inside the vehicle. The man was panicked and confused and appeared to be fumbling for keys and other items. Eric reached over from the passenger door and unbuckled the man’s seat belt for him as flames began to grow and appear through the hood and dashboard.
“I said forget that stuff and get out of your car now!” he says. “He got out and then asked if I know where his wife was.”
Not seeing anyone, Eric moved towards the front of the burning car and a woman appeared from the darkness, looking disoriented. As she walked towards them, she stumbled over the painted lane marker dividing the shoulder and oncoming traffic, leading Eric to grab her by the jacket and pull her back onto the paved shoulder just before two vehicles whizzed by.
“They were obviously in shock. They just couldn’t process,” he says.
Eric walked them back to his truck and once safely in the cab, he gave them blankets and called emergency services.
“That’s when I blew my nose and it was just full of black,” he says. “I looked over at the wife and she just had that thousand-mile stare. And then the husband goes, ‘well, that’s a wrap’, because that car is gone … it was literally melting in front of their eyes.”
After fire and police arrived the couple thanked Melo profusely and asked if they could give him some money. “I just told him that if you go to church, put that money into your church because I don’t need it. And there’s obviously a reason why I’m here.
“And after they left my cab, that’s when I emailed my dispatch and said, ‘I need a new fire extinguisher because I used mine all up.’”
For his bravery and selfless action, Eric Melo was presented with the 2024 Bridgestone-OTA Truck Hero Award at the OTA’s annual executive conference in Toronto last night.
“The Truck Hero award recognizes a professional truck driver who performs an act of exemplary courtesy and courage to others,” said Bridgestone Canada’s Mark Webb. “Eric is being commended tonight for such an act – an act that likely saved two lives. He is someone who always behaves selflessly, always stops to help others – whether it’s from his truck or his personal car when he travels. He is a passionate, dedicated professional driver who is a crown jewel at his company.”
When he heard about Eric’s actions, Richard Hann, general manager at Mill Creek Motor Freight, said he wasn’t at all surprised. “Eric always steps in and helps whenever he can. He’s not that guy that’s just going to drive for the day and go home. He’ll stay late to help a new driver. He’ll get on the phone and help someone if needed.”
Added fellow driver and friend Gregg Woodhouse: “It’s not unexpected from him. I’ve seen him jump out to help people with the little things and the big things. We see a lot of things on the road, and we see how fast things can change, how fast things can develop … and it’s something that he just doesn’t even think about. He just does it.”
Like most winners of this award, Eric doesn’t think he’s a hero. “I was there at the right moment. What I did I had to do because it was the right thing to do. It’s all anyone has to do. Just be kind to each other.”