Harry WelkerWelker, who drivers for Melton Truck Lines out of Tulsa, Okla., was with a trainee when he stopped at a rest area on I-70 in Kannapolis, Kan. (The trainee is not currently associated with Melton Truck Lines.) As the two men headed into the restroom, they noticed that a state trooper had a man in a van pulled over. He was questioning the van driver in what appeared to be a routine stop. When Welker and his student exited the restroom, however, nothing was normal anymore.
The officer and the van driver where locked in a violent struggle on the ground. The van driver was quickly overcoming the trooper and was attempting to take his gun from its holster. Without hesitation, Welker and his student, who are both Marine Corps veterans, rushed to the scene and tackled the van driver. At that point, the trooper was able to pull his stun gun and shock the van driver, who continued to struggle with truck drivers. Eventually, the three men managed to handcuff the van driver and get him into the back of the patrol car. The officer then discovered there was a warrant for the assailant’s arrest in another state.
Highway Angel LogoWhen he was first pulled over, the van driver tried to evade arrest by giving the trooper fake names. That’s when the officer asked him to exit the vehicle. When he tried to place the suspicious driver in handcuffs, he attacked, initiating the fight that Welker and his trainee happened upon moments later.
“It was my natural reaction to go over there and help,” says Welker, who worked for eight years as a corrections officer in Missouri. “I didn’t give it a second thought.”
In recognition of Welker’s actions, the Kansas Highway Patrol awarded him a plaque and a letter of thanks.
“Mr. Welker, you exhibited a great deal of bravery when you, unselfishly and without regard to your own safety, responded to help [our trooper],” reads the letter. “You put yourself in harm’s way for a State Trooper who you did not know. Your actions undoubtedly saved [the trooper] from further injury and possibly death.”
The TCA presented Welker with a certificate, patch and lapel pin. They also provided a certificate to Melton Truck Lines to acknowledge one of its drivers as a Highway Angel.
