N.C. State Troopers Honored for Heroic Deeds

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Sep. 11--One state trooper crawled through a burning mobile home in Bladen County to ensure no one was inside.

Another trooper who found a submerged car followed his gut to save the life of a Robeson County woman.

And a dispatcher in Bladen County took the initiative to use cell phone technology to find a missing truck driver 600 miles away.

All three were among patrolmen from the Highway Patrol's Troop B District who were honored Thursday at the National Guard Armory in Fayetteville.

Each received an award from the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, presented by Secretary Reuben F. Young, and from the Highway Patrol's commander, Col. Randy Glover.

Trooper Raymond B. Battle Jr. received the highest honors -- the Heroism Award and the Award of Valor -- for his actions on June 15 in Bladen County.

On a night when fierce storms moved through the area, Battle spotted an orange glow off N.C. 410 near Bladenboro.

The 20-year veteran of the patrol found a mobile home in flames on Todd Road.

"He could hear a dog barking inside," Young said.

Battle kicked open the door, and the dog ran out, Young said. The trooper continued into the home to make sure no one was inside. He was overcome by smoke, Young said.

"He became disoriented, but he could see his blue lights outside," Young said.

Battle crawled toward the lights and wasn't seriously hurt.

Battle received the highest honors for his "personal bravery and self-sacrifice" for crawling into the fire and saving the family's pet, Young said.

Assault victim

Trooper Kelvin Locklear's gut told him something wasn't right.

He was investigating a partially submerged car in a swamp in the Orrum community of Robeson County in January.

It appeared as if the 2007 Infiniti had been deliberately wrecked. Once the car was pulled from the water, a firefighter found a pile of bloody men's clothing inside.

Locklear checked on the car's registration and found it belonged to 80-year-old Lola Griffin Nye.

Locklear was suspicious when he discovered the car's radio was tuned to a rap music station. He drove to Nye's home about four miles away and -- with the help of a neighbor -- entered the darkened house. They found Nye badly beaten on the floor.

"At first, I thought it might be a homicide," Locklear said.

He talked to her as she regained consciousness until an ambulance arrived.

"I think he might have saved my life," said Nye, who attended the awards ceremony.

"I did what I was supposed to," Locklear said. "I believe in divine intervention, and this time I was in the middle of it."

Truck driver

Franklin Ledwell has worked as a dispatcher in the patrol's Elizabethtown communications center since 1991.

On Jan. 27, Ledwell received a call about Brian Perry, a Lumberton truck driver who was a day late in returning from a trip north. By all accounts, it was unusual behavior for Perry.

Ledwell contacted the phone company to see whether there had been "pings" from cell phone towers. That would help narrow an area to start looking for Perry.

The records indicated that Perry was somewhere near New Jersey. The signal was finally traced to a rest area in DuBois, Pa., 91 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Rescuers there found the truck in a parking lot with Perry inside. He was in critical condition, having suffered a seizure and exposure to cold weather.

"He would not have survived without telecommunicator Ledwell," Young said.

Staff writer Nancy McCleary can be reached at mcclearyn@fayobserver.com or 486-3568.

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