SALISBURY — Salisbury police Lieutenant Corey Brooks was on his way to another call about 9 p.m. Aug. 8 when he saw a tractor-trailer hit a highway retaining wall under an overpass on I-85, catching fire from the impact.

Brooks was the hero in that moment that everyone hopes for — he ran to the truck, opening the passenger door and shouting for the driver to get out. When he realized the driver, Michael Williams, was unconsciousness, he released the seat belt and grabbed the man, pulling him from behind the wheel and out of the truck.

In a release from the city describing the incident, it said “an unidentified female driver assisted Brooks in pulling the driver to safety on the opposite side of the road across two travel lanes.” In the video, it is clear that the fire flares up as Brooks and the other driver cover their faces and turn away from the flames.

Fire departments and Rowan County Emergency Services arrived on scene as Williams began to regain consciousness and he was able to get in the ambulance on his own, then was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem.

Brooks began his 24-year-plus law enforcement career with the East Spencer Police Department. Since joining Salisbury Police in 2001, he has continued to rise through the ranks, along the way supervising the patrol division, training and recruitment. He currently serves as lieutenant of the criminal investigations/violent crimes unit.

Brooks has received a number of accolades throughout his tenure, including the City of Salisbury Keys to Excellence Bronze Award, Salisbury Police Veteran Officer of the Year, the 2016 Blue Line Brother Hood Award, and the Lions Club Salisbury Police Veteran of the Year award.

A Sumter, S.C. native, Brooks holds a criminal justice degree from Livingstone College and an Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the N.C. Department of Justice. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

He was recognized for his heroic actions of Aug. 8 at tonight’s Salisbury City Council meeting.