N.C. Officer Hailed Hero After Stopping Runaway Car

Aug. 13, 2011
Quick thinking by a Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer may have prevented a serious crash on Central Avenue Friday morning.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --

Quick thinking by a Charlotte Mecklenburg police officer may have prevented a serious crash on Central Avenue Friday morning.

Officer Tom Morton had stopped traffic at Central Avenue and Briar Creek Road while workers were restringing a traffic light when a car came rolling through the intersection, and the driver yelled that her brakes were not working.

"Yeah... she didn't have any brakes. We could smell the brakes burning; she was pulling on her emergency brake," said Scott Lamont, who was on the crew restringing the light.

He watched as Morton jumped into action.

"I then ran to my police car, jumped in, drove around her and in front of her," Morton said.

Her car had some damage to the front bumper, and Morton's patrol car had even less.

"She had struck my right rear and made an impression. That's what bumpers are made for. I'm glad we put it to good use, glad everything turned out all right," he said as he downplayed what happened. . Lamont was more emphatic.

"The car went flying through the intersection. We're all out there working. The car got around all the people, but he did a great job reacting to that. He's a hero," Lamont said.

Copyright 2011 by . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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