HERO Units Aid Stranded Motorists

ATLANTA - They are some of Atlanta's most unsung heroes.

You see them each and every day rescuing stranded motorists on the metro-areas busy interstates.

Robert Basemore begins his day checking in for duty.

As part of the Highway Emergency Response Operators or the HERO unit, he's responsible for 10 miles of highway. All of the hero zones on interstate 75, 85, 575, and 400 are broken into 10 mile increments - it ensures stranded motorists get a fast response.

"That's what we strive for, we strive to get there in 10-15 minutes. Because when a person is stranded, every minute seems like an hour," said Robert Basemore.

And it wasn't long before Basemore came upon just that - a woman whose car has simply stopped running.

"When cars break you have no phone, no numbers and you feel completely lost," said Angela Santana.

After examining the car Basemore found the timing belt broken.

Basemore says he's seen in all in terms of car trouble, but he sees 3 issues the most:

"the flats, the running out of gas and really the running hot too; it all breaks down to economics. A lot of times, people are pushing the limit because of the situation with the economy-- just trying to make it to get that paycheck," said Basemore.

But for every predictable call, there's the unusual. He says his most strange was a call for help in the middle of rush hour.

"We got there and the lady was just sitting in the middle of the exit and she had locked all her doors and wouldn't let us in. So we had to call Atlanta police. And Atlanta police had to bust the windows to get her out. And they arrested her," said Basemore.

Basemore says it's accidents that frustrate drivers more than any other traffic delay, but most accidents can be cleared in five minutes.

When asked if he feels like a hero Basemore responded, "I feel like a servant."

HERO operators say their best advice to stranded drivers is to stay in their car with their seat belt on and wait for help to arrive.