Trailways Driver Hailed A Hero For 2010 Olympic Winter Games Performance
Fairfax, VA- Charles C. Campbell, Jr. of Foley, Alabama (AL), and a driver with Colonial Trailways, located in Mobile, AL, didn't stand on a podium, and he didn't receive a medal at the recent 2010 Winter Olympic Games in British Columbia. But some who witnessed and heard of his heroic performance won't soon forget it.
Campbell was one of 1,800 drivers from thirty-three Team Trailways companies who provided shuttle transport and vehicles for Olympic and Paralympics athletes to- and from practice venues and other sites for over two months.
One February morning, he and five other off-duty drivers were themselves on an early (4 a. m.) morning transfer from their hotel to the Vancouver garage to start their runs. The shuttle driver was a 71 year-old, retired Minneapolis-St. Paul transit driver, who also had been hired by a company located in New Jersey to work Vancouver's Olympic bus transport network.
"We were staying in a Langley hotel about an hour from Vancouver and were traveling along the Trans-Canada Highway to the garage site where we would pick up our coaches and begin our rounds," recalled Campbell. "For some reason - maybe because we were all less than wide awake at that hour - we moved to the back of the bus.
"As we crossed a bridge into the city, it occurred to me that I should tell our driver which exit to take because I thought he might not know which one to take. So I moved to the front behind him and told him to take exit 27. He didn't respond though he was holding the wheel and sitting upright. I tried telling him again - and he still didn't respond."
At this point, Campbell noticed the vehicle was drifting to the side at about 65 mph in the direction of a wall. That's when he attempted to grab the wheel out of the driver's hands, but was unable to do so.
"I just couldn't understand why he wouldn't let me have the wheel, and when I tried to take the wheel, I couldn't get him to release it. That's when I called for help from the back. Two guys - Jim Ethington and Gene Tucker - also Colonial drivers came to help me. They managed to pull the driver off the wheel and out of the seat in time for me to steer the bus away from disaster. They put him on the floor and tried to revive him, but it was too late. He was dead, apparently of a heart attack."
Corporal Lea-Anne Dunlop of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police lauded the men in a news release, saying "their actions ensured not only the safety of those aboard, but also other motorists on the road way as well."
In retrospect, Campbell said he was puzzled about what prompted him to move to the front of the bus that morning. "I just think it was the Lord who told me to do it."
Campbell is a retired retail executive and works part time for Colonial Trailways. He grew up on the family farm in Robertsdale, AL, and is the eldest of three brothers and one sister. He graduated from high school in Robertsdale and Livingston University. He and his wife Phyllis, now live in Foley, just ten miles from the family farm and his parents, Charles "Carzine" Campbell, Sr. and Catherine Campbell.
Visit Colonial Trailways-www.colonialtrailways.com; or call (251-476-8687)
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The Trailways Transportation System (Trailways) is North America's oldest motorcoach system comprised of privately owned bus companies. Trailways has an enviable reputation for providing safe, secure, reliable and quality-valued services. The network offers a variety of transport and travel solutions that include corporate, private charter, school and military moves, contract services, sightseeing and tours, as well as travel planning to customers throughout North America and in parts of Europe.
For more information call 703.691.3052 or visit www.trailways.com.
