A Florida trucker is being honored by the Truckload Carriers Association after he used his truck to shield other drivers from the shooting that killed the Cortez Police Department’s Sgt. Michael Moran in November.
The trucker, identified as Jason Corino, is from Winter Park, Florida, and drives for Melton Truck Lines of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The TCA named Corino a TCA Highway Angel for his actions during the shooting Nov. 29.
About 11:30 a.m. that day, Corino told the TCA that he was driving on U.S. Highway 491 in Cortez when he noticed a vehicle driving abnormally, saying that he was unable to merge lanes because of the car’s reckless driving.
The car passed his truck, and three other trucks passed behind the car. Later, it was found out that police were called to pull the car over because of a conflict between drivers of the car and trucks.
Farther down the road, Corino saw Moran pull over the car, which was driven by Jason Campbell, 44, of Ogden, Utah.
“It’s just me, and the officer’s car in front of me and the suspect’s car in front of him and I’ve got traffic behind me,” Corino said. “I got about 100 feet away, and the kid (Campbell) got out of the car, and I heard the first two rounds (of gunfire), and I slammed on my brakes right there to stop traffic behind me.”
Once Corino realized a shooting was taking place, he turned on his dashboard camera and caught the entirety of the shooting, which was later used in the police investigation. He blocked the cars behind him from coming in the line of fire.
“I could see the bullets bouncing off the ground,” he said. “I stopped right there to protect the people behind me.”
“He became a key witness to the incident, and the camera footage was extremely helpful to the officer’s investigation,” the TCA said. “Unfortunately, Sgt. Moran died as a result of his wounds.”
According to the TCA’s website, the Highway Angels program was created in August 1997 and was created to recognize “Highway Angels for exemplary kindness, courtesy and courage displayed while on the job.”
Since the program started, the TCA said it has honored nearly 1,400 truck drivers.
Campbell, the suspect in the fatal shooting, was killed in a shootout with a police officer and a deputy from the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office.
