San Francisco Bay Bridge Heroes

It’s not every day that a story like this comes along.

It all started when two 1-800-GOT-JUNK? employees, working for our San Francisco Bay franchise, were driving along in one of our blue trucks.  They were on their way to a client’s house to haul some junk, as usual.  It was about 3:30pm as they approached the large ‘S’ turn on the Bay Bridge. The famous double-decker bridge was as busy as always.

Driver Tim Layden and Navigator Kevin Penney were driving along when something frightening grabbed their attention.  They both looked to their left and noticed a blue BMW starting to bounce off the middle median. The driver of the car was hunched over the wheel, obviously unconscious.  Kevin and Tim knew they had to act quickly.  The car showed no sign of slowing down and was a threat to everyone around it.

Here is where the heroism takes off. “The only way this car will stop is if we stop it,” commented Kevin. So they sped up past her, moved in front of her car and let it hit them, slowing down until both the BMW and their truck were fully stopped.

After stopping, Kevin called 911 while Tim, who just happens to be med-school bound, rushed to the lady’s aid.  Emergency crews showed up soon after to take over. Needless to say, there was damage to both vehicles but Dan Defoe, Operations Manager, exclaimed, “I don’t care about the truck damage! My guys are heroes.”

In case you were wondering; Tim and Kevin were a little late for their next appointment but during all the commotion, they still managed to call ahead to their client and apologize for the delay.