Officer honored for saving woman from Middlesex creek

Roger Shearin was on his way to work when he spotted a Chevrolet Trailblazer in the water.

Kelly Carter had been driving back from a job interview. She hydroplaned.

"I don't remember a whole lot," she said. "It all happened so fast."

She found herself sinking in a creek and called 911 on her waterlogged cellphone.

But then, Shearin came to the rescue.

"He tried to open the passenger side door, and he realized there was nothing to stand on," Carter said. "And I remember seeing his wedding band and thinking, 'Oh man, this man is going to drown trying to get me out.'"

Shearin, who has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, was able to climb onto the roof and pry the passenger door open.

"The Lord definitely put him in a place where he needed to be," Carter said.

On Friday, for the first time since he jumped into that creek, Shearin reunited with Carter.

Police chief Mike Collins presented him with the certificate of valor.

"It represents all first responders," Collins said.

But Shearin said he was just doing his job.

"What I did was human gesture," Shearin said. "With my background, as the Lord Jesus Christ as my savor. That's what helped me help her. That's what got us both through what we went through."

Shearin has been with the Middlesex Police Department for a year.