A Johnston County state trooper was honored by NC State University last week during Hero Day.
Trooper Dwight Braswell was honored during the 5th inning of the NC State Wolfpack home baseball game last Wednesday for his heroic efforts in pulling a victim from a submerged car while off duty.
Trooper Braswell was off duty taking his child to school and was traveling on US301 near Benson around 6:40am on March 5th and saw several people standing beside the roadway near a creek. As Braswell got closer he saw an overturned car partially submerged in the creek. The driver was trapped inside.
Braswell and a second Good Samaritan, Scott Asbill of Benson, an associate dean at Campbell’s College of Pharmacy, jumped in the cold water and found the driver, Jarrell Booker, 20, still alive but trapped. Trooper Braswell and Asbill worked for several minutes until they could free Booker from his submerged car.
Trooper Braswell, his wife and their children were invited to the Wolfpack’s May 9th home game, where he was honored as a hero. He received a long standing ovation from the crowd and had his picture on the jumbotron for several minutes.
“It was a good honor,” Braswell told WTSB. “I don’t feel like I did anything special. The good Lord had us in the right place at the right time. It is a humbling experience for me but I don’t deserve anything.”
“There are firefighters, troopers, deputies, police officers, EMT’s who do things like this every day,” Trooper Braswell added. “I don’t deserve anything special. I was just glad to be at the right place at the right time.”
Braswell was also accompanied to the game by Johnston County Highway Patrol First Sgt. D.L. Mobley and Sgt. John Bridges.
