TORONTO — Mark Savarie and Mike Asselin, both of Sudbury, Ont., were presented with the Bridgestone/Firestone Canada “Truck Hero Award” for Ontario yesterday at the Ontario Trucking Association convention in Toronto for their lifesaving actions during a dramatic truck explosion on Hwy. 17 west of Sudbury on Aug. 5.

Savarie and Asselin, both drivers with ETI Transport at the time of the incident, were driving separate trucks when they came upon another transport truck which had run off the road and collided with a rock cut. Other motorists had already assisted the driver out of his vehicle, but after Savarie and Asselin joined them, they noticed that the smoking wreck was placarded as carrying explosives.

Asselin immediately instructed the onlookers to evacuate the area, while Savarie took the driver across to the eastbound lanes and administered first aid. Soon after Asselin’s rig was backed away from the crash scene, and all personnel were well away from the site, the cargo of the wrecked truck exploded, demolishing Savarie’s nearby vehicle, blowing a huge crater in the highway, and causing a total of $5 million in property damage.

Each Truck Hero receives a $2500 cash award, an expenses-paid trip to Toronto for the ceremony, and a personal crystal trophy.