Traffic Management Operatives Wayne Berry and Tony Drake have both been shortlisted for demonstrating heroic acts of bravery and the ability to cope admirably in the face of adversity while on the frontline at work.
The Highways Heroes’ Awards was designed to recognise the value and importance of the unsung heroes we put to work every day. You can read Wayne and Tony’s stories below.
Wayne’s Story
On Tuesday 9th May 2023, Wayne Berry, TMO, Core Highways was unfortunately involved in a serious incident while working out on site.
An Operative working on behalf of our client accidentally struck an 11KV cable (High Voltage electrical cable) with a jack hammer and his whole body caught on fire. Wayne was stood in close proximity to the incident and selflessly jumped into immediate action with intent to help the individual.
Wayne swiftly removed the barriers from the surrounding area and grabbed onto the Operative who was on fire, covering the flames and encouraging the Operative to get down to the floor to extinguish the flames. Wayne then noticed that the Operative's boots were melting, so he carefully removed them and comforted the injured person while they waited for the emergency services to arrive.
By acting on instinct, Wayne did put himself at risk to help this individual and has suffered an electrical burn on his hand and fire burns to his forehead, but his fast-paced actions and response did assist in calming and controlling the situation. Whilst the other individual does have life-changing injuries, he is still alive thanks to Wayne's heroic actions.
Wayne’s quick and selfless response in the face of a fire ultimately helped to save another's life. We are all so proud of Wayne and are delighted that he is being recognised for his act of bravery and selflessness.
Tony’s Story
On Tuesday 6th December 2022, Tony Drake, TMO, Core Highways helped to save the life of a member of public whilst working on site.
Tony was carrying out his duties during peak time when he noticed that the traffic was backing up more than usual. Tony could see vehicles braking harshly and trying to avoid an obstruction in the road further up from the job. Tony stopped what he was doing and went to see what was happening and was shocked to find a distressed member of public jumping into traffic and then laying in the road, trying to get hit.
Tony asked if everything was ok, but the individual continued to try to jump towards the moving vehicles. Despite the challenge of a busy, dark road Tony took it upon himself to try to slow the oncoming traffic as much as possible to make sure they avoided the distressed person. Recognising that this individual was clearly a danger to themselves and others, Tony made a call to the emergency services for further assistance.
Tony eventually managed to get to the distressed individual, stop them and hold them in a safer place at the side of the road to try and calm them while they waited together for the emergency services. Tony kept his cool when the individual became aggressive towards him and started to hit out. Thankfully the emergency services arrived and got the individual to safety.
We believe that Tony’s act of bravery and kindness towards this individual in a very challenging situation undoubtedly prevented the member of public from taking their own life and led to them getting the support and help that they needed. We are all very proud of Tony and are thrilled to see him being recognised in the Highways Heroes Awards.
"The Highways Heroes Awards was designed to recognise the value and importance of the unsung heroes we put to work every day."
