Texas welder called ‘highway hero’ for stopping unconscious driver

Texas welder called ‘highway hero’ for stopping unconscious driver Rene Villarreal-Albe averted possible crash by pulling truck up to car and halting it as driver faced medical episode A Texas man who recently was driving on a highway reportedly pulled his truck out in front of a car with an unconscious man behind the wheel, gradually slowed it down with his back bumper and ultimately stopped it to avert what could have been a major crash. Rene Villarreal-Albe’s good deed was captured on dramatic cell phone video recorded by his wife, Andrea Walker, and then shared online by his sister, Cortney Trinidad, as the Texas news outlet Kens 5 reported . The video and action-movie-like story behind it gained widespread attention on corners of the internet dedicated to finding positive news, generating some comments that hailed Villarreal-Albe as a “highway hero”. Villarreal-Albe was driving his truck on San Antonio ’s loop 410 with Walker as his passenger when they both spotted a sport-utility vehicle weaving in and out of traffic – as well as crashing into and bouncing off a concrete barrier. The couple realized the motorist in question was unconscious and couldn’t stop the truck, so, Walker told Kens 5, “we took action.” Villarreal-Albe – who makes his living welding – forged ahead of the unconscious driver with his truck, on which he had just manufactured and installed a heavy-duty bumper. The welder then slowed himself and the unconscious driver down until they each stopped completely, leaving nearby traffic to zoom by harmlessly. A passerby who happened to be a nurse and had deduced there was a medical emergency unfolding soon stopped and began performing CPR on the unconscious motorist. Emergency responders who were summoned to the scene then arrived to take that motorist to the hospital. He was breathing and had a pulse on the way to the hospital, though he was listed in critical condition, Kens reported, citing a fire department spokesperson. Though he had no traini...