Eyewitnesses to a fatal tanker-truck crash near Bradford, Ontario, Canada, on Monday are calling the trucker who died in the wreck a hero.

According to the Toronto Star, two or three vehicles were apparently racing on Highway 400 when one of them cut off the truck.

Jane Lennox – a driver who was approaching from the opposite direction – told reporters the unnamed trucker appeared to deliberately veer into a ditch rather than endanger on-coming traffic.

“He’s a hero,” eyewitness Tina Hannahson told the Star. “He sacrificed himself to save many others.”

The trucker’s name has not been released.