A Lithuanian truck driver has been hailed as a hero by his employer after his quick actions helped to save the life of a fellow trucker during a horrific accident at the Port of Felixstowe.
According to multiple reports in the UK media, Wednesday’s accident occurred as a result of a 40ft shipping container being inadvertently lowered on top of a lorry.
Its driver was in the cab at the time, but fortunately a trucker nearby jumped out of his vehicle to push the auto-stop button. That paused the container and allowed the driver in the cab to avoid serious injury or worse.
The Fire Brigade had to be called to free the driver from the wreckage, and the trucker was taken to an Ipswich hospital. Fortunately, he has since been discharged.
The Port of Felixstowe says a full investigation into the cause of the accident is being undertaken.
The driver who pushed the auto-stop button was Lithuanian Paulius Povilauskas, who told the East Anglian Daily Times yesterday that he did “what everyone would do”.
Povilauskas added “Thank God everything is okay. I’m happy. I want to wish the driver a speedy recovery and good luck. I am very happy that he stayed healthy.”
Caron Craft, who runs transport company Penta GB, also told the East Anglian Daily Times that he was proud of his firm’s driver:
“He [Povilauskas] most certainly is a hero. He saved this guy’s life. I’m very proud that he acted like that. He said he did what any other person would have done and he would do it again. But I think that his actions were very heroic — to jump out of that cab when he knew what was happening, and to try and help that driver.”
Photo credits: John Fielding / Wikimedia Commons + Smiffs Heavy Recovery / Facebook