Thames Valley Police officer who pulled man from M40 honoured
Recalling the events, PC Johnson said it had been "raining, freezing cold and pitch black".He said he slowed down as he saw the man walking on a bridge because "something told me that it didn't look right"."My police intuition made me slow down, so I could see his face and see if he was alright."
'Life-saving hero'
The man ignored PC Johnson's shouts to him, before climbing over the barrier and jumping on to the busy motorway.PC Johnson, who by this time had stopped and called his colleagues for support, ran into lane one, took hold of the man - who was seriously injured - and dragged him to safety."We were on the hard shoulder, with lorries whizzing past us," he said."I had to keep myself low down, and I just kept updating the control room and waited for officers to get there."Following the arrival of police and paramedics, the man was taken to hospital, where he remained for more than a month whilst recovering.PC Johnson said he felt "honoured" to receive the award."Loads of officers do really amazing things every day, but I always think that I just did what every other officer would do in that situation," he said.Thames Valley Police Federation chair Aileen O'Connor added that PC Johnson was a "life-saving hero" who was "incredibly brave".
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