SEMI DRIVER AWARDED FOR AVOIDING BUS
Monday, August 28th, 2006 -- 10:19 AM
An Arkansas, Wisconsin, truck driver was honored at a Governor?s Conference in Madison for defensive driving.Back in April, 25 year-old Jonathan Bechel?s quick thing allowed him to swerve and just graze a Neillsville school bus that had pulled in front of him on Highway 10.
?(He) was able to drive around the bus avoiding a major catastrophe,? says Chief Deputy Jim Backus. ?It was just a minor accident.?
?If he would have struck the bus, it would have been a mass casualty incident.?
The Clark County Sheriff?s Department nominated him for a defensive driving award that was presented in Madison last week.
?He had very little time to react and he was loaded with 80,000 lbs. of liquid feed. He did not lock up the trailer or lose control,? Backus says.
The company he was driving for QLG Transportation of Dodgeville, was also given a corporate award. Backus says they offer monthly defensive driving instruction for all their drivers.
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