HERO Units Out in Force for Holiday

It's the last big weekend of the summer travel season and making sure your tires are ready to roll is crucial.

And if motorists do get stranded on a busy highway, they can count on the guardians of the roadway to help -- the drivers of the HERO units.

Traffic on the downtown connector is fast and no place to be when you have car trouble.

"Being in the middle of the highway, with traffic going as fast as it was going, I was scared, I didn't know what to do, I kind of panicked and being here alone it was a true blessing having them come out and find me," said driver Nicole Corbett.

"They" are drivers with the state's hero units, which patrol the interstates looking for stranded motorists who need help.

And the drivers of these vehicles expect to be out in force this holiday weekend, that as they help troubled motorists get out of harms' way.

Sometimes HERO drivers are stunned by how people try to solve car problems such as those folks who have a flat.

"When people out here are doing what they're doing, they don't pay attention to the traffic, you see how the guy is just laying on the ground like that. All it takes is a car that doesn't pay attention," said HERO driver Veon Adger.

"We're coming down and the wheel started trembling, we stopped after it popped so then this guy, HERO came up," said driver Stanley Fuentes. "I really don't know how to change tires so I was pretty worried."

HERO driver Veon Adger says that's the biggest problem they see with those who need tire help -- figuring out how to safely get a flat changed on the shoulder of the road.

"Most of the time the motorists don't pay attention when they step out of the vehicle, they don't watch the traffic. You never know what may happen," said HERO Operator Veon Adger.

Adger says the first priority is to get off the road -- second if you must change tires on the shoulder -- always face traffic to know what is coming.

"When they change a tire they've got their back to the traffic, they're not watching the traffic for safety and they don't think about it. While we're out there, we always look out there while we change tires," said Adger.