Centerville honors two motorists for restraining injured driver and preventing apparent self-harm on I-15

Centerville City Council on April 1 formally recognized two women who intervened on Interstate 15 in September 2024 to restrain an injured man and stop him from putting himself into traffic.

Chief Alan Ackerson told the council that on the morning in September two motorists — identified by the department as Brianna Kosek and Lauren Webb — stopped at the scene of a rollover, restrained a man who said “my intent is to die today,” and physically prevented him from re-entering traffic until officers arrived. Ackerson said the women assisted officers and that responding officers later turned the case over to the highway patrol for medical and mental-health services.

Why it matters: Police and the awards committee said the pair’s quick action likely prevented the man from being struck by traffic. The department showed body-worn camera footage from Officer Dalton Groen’s perspective during the recognition and presented the two with challenge coins, department patches and certificates of recognition.

Quotes and presentation Chief Alan Ackerson described the rescuers’ actions and the department’s awards committee recommendation. “You can see in the video, our citizens here were completely gassed after fighting with this guy in an attempt to save his life. And it worked,” Ackerson said during the presentation.

The recipients — Brianna Kosek and Lauren Webb — accepted the recognition; family members attended for a photo with the council and staff.

Ending The council applauded the recipients and the department for coordinating the recognition. The department retained jurisdiction of the incident for award purposes; the highway patrol handled the criminal and medical response, according to Ackerson.