Scott Landon’s split-second decision saved two lives: that of a woman and that of her unborn child.

The trucker from Burnham was driving on Interstate 295 in Falmouth the evening of Oct. 10 when he saw a Toyota Prius swerve into the highway guardrail.

Landon, 48, who works for NRF Distributors, of Augusta, had to decide whether to slam on the brakes of his tractor-trailer truck or to gun it.

Inside the Prius was Erin Kaye, 35, seven months pregnant with her first child.

Had Landon decided to brake, the tractor-trailer probably would have slammed into the crashed car. Instead, he chose to gun it, and his tractor-trailer missed the car by just feet.

“If he hadn’t done that, I would have been smashed like a bug,” Kaye said last month. “I completely credit him for saving my life.”

Advertisement

Landon pulled over and ran toward her as she repeated to him that she was pregnant, terrified her unborn baby girl had been hurt. Landon, who identified himself as Scott, comforted Kaye, telling her that everything would be fine. He calmly called 911, held her hand, sat with her and talked with her until emergency crews arrived.

When responders arrived, they turned Landon away because technically he was not involved in the accident. Then Landon was gone and Kaye never had a chance to thank him properly. Emergency workers determined her car was drivable and she was free to go, so she drove herself to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she was admitted overnight and found out her baby was fine.

Kaye, of Durham, initially didn’t know who Landon was in the aftermath of the crash, which happened after she swerved to avoid hitting a raccoon on the highway. But she later reunited with Landon and finally thanked him with a warm embrace, surrounded by their families. At the reunion, Kaye brought her husband, Clint, while Landon brought along his wife, Sharon, and their daughter, Alyssa, and Alyssa’s 11-month-old daughter, Peyton.

The 6-foot-3-inch-tall truck driver said he has witnessed many crashes during his several decades of driving trucks, and he has had to swerve to avoid out-of-control vehicles, particularly in Boston, where he has seen a lot of bad drivers.

Alyssa, Landon’s daughter, and her mother, Sharon, said Scott Landon is a wonderful husband and father who wouldn’t think twice about helping someone in need.

“We’re totally not surprised, because he’s just one of the good guys — he really is,” Sharon Landon said. “He’s our everyday hero.”

Mainers to be thankful for

Comments are not available on this story.