Edward Regener, who escaped one fire before jumping in to save the men, received the honor earlier this week at the Mid-America Trucking Show.
Regener, a 13-year veteran truck driver, was named the 2006 Highway Hero because of his courage and quick thinking after a Nov. 4, 2006 accident on I-10 near Phoenix.
The 43-year-old truck driver was headed east on I-10 when he said he saw a westbound car headed his way across the median. At the same time, a pickup truck carrying an engaged couple was attempting to pass Regener. The speeding car collided with the pickup, pushing it into Regener’s
truck. The car, resting atop the guardrail, caught fire.
Fire erupted in the pickup and spread to Regener’s cab and the truck’s first trailer, which contained drums of battery acid. With intense flames at the driver’s door, Regener exited the passenger door and ran to the blazing car that caused the accident.
He said he struggled to open the car doors, which were pressurized by the heat. He finally dislodged the passenger door until the fire forced him to the driver’s side. The car’s contents – the dash, back seat – "were mashed together." The driver and another man were both in the passenger seat, "wedged in among the broken seats and smashed contents."
Kneeling in the car, braving the intense heat and breathing thick smoke, Regener said, "I ripped the inside of the car apart and started throwing pieces outside until I could he reach the two men. And then one by one, I handed them to other motorists."
Regener received a $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond and a specially designed Goodyear Highway Hero ring.
