Officer Carlos Carmo Jnr was on duty on a busy corner in Bridgeport, Connecticut when he noticed something unusual. A large SUV rolled past him on the road with two passengers – but no driver. It was something he easily could have missed but his sharp eye, quick thinking, and incredible actions prevented what could have been a fatal accident that day.
It was at 2:30pm and the school resource officer had been assigned the Harding High School Safe School Corridor to direct traffic on the busy corner of Boston Avenue and Bond Street. It was an area populated with kids as they are walking home from school, and a car that was parked along Boston Avenue facing east slipped back into neutral while the driver was away. It slowly started rolling down the hill, with two passengers in tow.
When the officer saw the SUV go past with no driver, he noticed that it was heading towards a sidewalk full of young teenagers.
In the video, you see Officer Carmo notice the vehicle and slowly follow it as he’s trying to figure out what’s going on. When he notices the passengers – one in the front and one in the back – panicking and screaming, he starts running toward the SUV.
“I was just thinking in my mind, ‘I gotta find a way to stop this’,” he told ABC News.
As he ran toward the vehicle, he started yelling to the kids on the sidewalk to get them to move out of the way of the onoming danger. “They all had headphones on and I was screaming at them. They basically didn’t hear me. I don’t even think they knew what was going on until it was over.”
With the kids oblivious to the danger heading their way, it was up to Officer Carmo to act quickly and handle the situation. Running alongside the vehicle, he grabbed at the side door, pulling it open and using the frame of it to pull the SUV to a halt, dragging his leg along the ground.
The two passengers were terrified and screaming as the officer was pulling them to a stop.
Thanks to the officer’s bravery, quick thinking, and strength, a potentially fatal crash was avoided. “My adrenaline basically kicked in at that point. I used my strength while dragging my feet along the ground … before the SUV could collide with anyone or anything,” he said.
While no specific training is provided for such a situation, Officer Carmo relied on his instinct and adrenaline to take control of the situation and put himself in harm’s way in the call of duty. He has been commended not only by the passengers in the car, but also by the police department.
“Officer Carmo has been with the Bridgeport Police Department for four years. He is being recognized for his bravery, selflessness, and quick thinking in this emergency situation that could have been tragic had he not intervened, ” said police spokesperson Terron Jones.
Watch the video of the amazing rescue below!
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