Trenton Police Officer Mike Norris was honored for saving the life of a driver on fire after a traffic accident
Trenton Police Officer Mike Norris got a belated thank you for an act of heroism he performed in September – an American Police Hall of Fame Lifesaving Award presented to him at the annual police department Christmas dinner.
“He’s done a super job,” said Police Chief Roger Castleberry. “I would expect the same of any of them, but Mike has had that training with the fire department.”
The award stems from what happened when Officer Norris responded to a traffic accident call on Sept. 15. A box van, which is a smaller commercial transport vehicle, had rear-ended a much larger tractor-trailer truck on the I-59 exit ramp, resulting in extensive damage to the box van, which had caught fire. The box van’s driver, 23-year-old Steven
Brown, was trapped inside the burning vehicle.
Officer Norris, said Chief Castleberry, had responded to the call because he was closest, but because of his training with the fire department training he knew what to do.
He jumped into the flaming cab with his fire extinguisher.
“He (Mr. Brown) was pinned between the seat and the firewalls, and he was screaming. He was on fire,” said Officer Norris. “Luckily, due to preparation on everybody’s part, we carry fire extinguishers." Officer Norris then kept the flames in the cab at bay until the Trenton Fire Department arrived to take over.
By all accounts, the officer’s bravery and quickness to act saved the life of the badly burned Mr. Brown, who was later cut from the cab and transported by helicopter to Erlanger Hospital, then on to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
Charges were filed against Mr. Brown in the accident, said Chief Castleberry, for following too closely and driving without a license. The young driver had a valid
learner’s permit but was not accompanied as the law requires by a licensed driver.
Another young man – who escaped serious injury – was traveling with him but was also unlicensed.
So far, though, said Chief Castleberry, the injured man had not been brought before a judge. “The best I understand, they had to take his leg off,” he said. “He won’t be required to come to court until he’s able to.”
Officer Norris will not get a pay raise in association with the award, said Chief Castleberry: “Just a medal, a certificate – and appreciation.”
Officer Norris said he had never heard of the lifesaving award until shortly after the incident, when peers told him he had earned it. But he didn’t know that Chief Castleberry had actually applied to get it for him before he was surprised with a ceremony in his honor at the department Christmas dinner – complete with an appearance by Georgia state Senator Jeff Mullis.
Officer Norris was pleased to get the award but denies he did anything special.
“There was no heroism,” he said. “It was just everyday police work.”
Robin Ford Wallace
robinfordwallace@tvn.net