Tow truck driver injured in crash speaks to Channel 9

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Only Channel 9 spoke with the tow truck driver who's grateful to be alive after a car slammed into him while he was helping a stranded driver on the side of the interstate.

For the next several weeks, tow truck driver Mike Herms will be at home, recovering from a leg broken in three places, a broken toe and several cracked ribs after a hydroplaning car hit him Thursday night.

"Working in the rain is just terrifying when you're having to work on the side of the interstate," he explained.

Herms was in the area of I-485 at the on ramp of Interstate 77 in South Charlotte, helping a woman who called for roadside assistance, when he heard a loud screeching noise coming toward him.

"There's no feeling in the world that can describe seeing a car coming at you out of control -- knowing that they're going to hit you at 80 miles per hour," he said.

He ended up underneath his truck. That's when his years of medical training as part of a rescue squad kicked in. He put his injured leg on top of the other one to help with the pain and so he wouldn't pass out.

Herms is upset he can't work for weeks to support his family because, he says, drivers continue to disregard the "move over" law and don't look out for emergency workers and tow truck drivers on the side of the road.

"People just ignore it. People don't care. They're so worried about what they've got going on in their day-to-day lives that they forget about the people who are out there trying to do their jobs," he said.

But once he's healed, he'll be back on the side of the road.

"There's people out there who need help. Their cars broke down on the side of the road, and you got to get them off the side of the road,” he said.

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