Christopher Cranford

Christopher Cranford rescued a woman from a runaway automobile, Houston, Texas, November 14, 2003. A 47-year-old woman was the passenger of an automobile being driven on a beltway when the car was struck by a 300-pound tire that had detached from a tractor-trailer traveling on the same highway. The driver of the car was killed instantly, and the car continued forward, out of control. It veered in and out of the inner emergency lane, striking the concrete medial barrier repeatedly. Another motorist, Cranford, 18, plumber, was traveling behind the car and witnessed the accident, then, passing, saw the woman struggling to control the car. Cranford drove his half-ton pickup truck into the emergency lane at a point about 30 feet ahead of the car and removed his foot from the accelerator. After having traveled out of control for a half-mile, the car, then going about 45 m.p.h., struck the back of the pickup, pushing it forward 10 feet. Cranford applied his vehicle’s brakes and took both vehicles to a stop. The woman was not badly injured. Cranford sustained back pain and soreness, and he recovered within a week.