September 2000
Volume 4
Issue 9

Southern Bundle Hauler Saves Teen's Life

It was the middle of August around 12:30 on a Sunday night when Southern bundle hauler, Nancy Crum, saved a young man's life. She was driving down Rt. 149, traveling at highway speed, on her way from Ziegler to West Frankfort. She was down in the bottoms on that cloudy night, the visibility less than optimal. She'd passed Dry Road heading east when she came upon a "lump" in the middle of the highway. "I thought it was the belly of a deer that had been hit by a car," she said. I swerved into the other lane to avoid it. You don't want to hit those deer; they can really mess up your car."

It wasn't a deer, though. It was a teenage boy passed out drunk in the middle of a 2 lane highway. He'd angered his friends or caught them in potentially deadly, practical joking moods. They'd taken his shirt and his shoes and kicked him out of their car. Now he lay in the east bound lane, his head 2 feet from the dashed center line, his black pants making him that much more difficult to see.

As Nancy swerved to avoid him she realized that she'd nearly hit a boy, not a deer. In that instant she knew what she had to do. She drove down to the nearest house. She woke an elderly couple living there and urged them to call 911. Then she sped back to where the boy lay, turned on her flashers and used her truck to shield him from any oncoming traffic.

"I just said, 'Thank you, God, for letting me see him and for giving me quick enough reflexes to swerve and miss him. . .' At that point, I didn't know if he was alive or dead."

When he awoke, stood up and began stumbling toward her head lights, though, she knew he might be dangerous. She stayed in her truck with the doors locked and the windows rolled up. As he came nearer, she threw her truck in reverse and began leading the young man slowly down the road toward the old couple's house. When that couple pulled up behind her, she felt relieved. "I figured there were 3 of us now and that we could handle him," she said. So, she rolled down her window a crack and heard him ask, "Which way is Ziegler? Can anybody give me a ride?" "There's your ride now," Nancy responded as 2 Ziegler police cruisers approached the scene. "He told the police he was 18. But if he was 18, I'm Grandma Moses," Nancy recalled with a laugh. "If he was a cat, he just used 8 of his 9 lives."

Nancy has a great sense of humor, but she's all business in a crisis. She is humble and good humored in describing her role in the incident we've recounted, though her quick responses and level headed actions surely prevented a disaster from occurring that night. For all the drama inherent in the situation and the heroism that was put on display, the incident began and ended quickly. It lasted but 10 minutes, maybe less. The police told Nancy they did not need a written statement from her. They cleared her to leave. She dropped off her remaining bundles only 9 minutes later than she normally would have. The Southern was delivered that morning in W. Frankfurt on time.

This is not the first time Routes has had the honor of acknowledging the heroism of one of its readers. Southern carriers and truck drivers watch out for their customers and neighbors. They notice when things seem amiss along their routes and they take action: reporting fires, calling for help when they find a customer injured, stepping in when a neighbor needs a hand. Its an aspect of the way they approach their jobs, an element of their professionalism, that few folks realize or fully appreciate; its a service to their communities that does the whole Southern family proud. Congratulations, Nancy.