RALEIGH – Three employees from DOT Maintenance in Bertie County recently received the Extra Mile Award for rescuing a woman who was trapped in rising flood waters during Tropical Storm Julia.

N.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Nick Tennyson presented the award to William Audrey Creech, Marty Lee Jernigan and Stacy Allen Mizelle at the Board of Transportation’s monthly meeting held Dec. , in Raleigh.

These three employees were putting out barricades on Wakelon Road during the storm on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Jernigan, who is also a volunteer with the fire department, received an alert on his fire department pager that a car was swept off the road with a woman trapped inside at Flat Swamp on Wakelon Road.

The trio of DOT workers were close to that location and knew they could get there before the fire department, so they went to help.

When they arrived at the scene, they found the woman trapped in a small SUV in water at least two feet deep and rising. They were able to reach the woman and pull her to safety. Bertie County Emergency Management had arrived at the scene and helped the lady get home.

“Our team continually rises to whatever challenge they face to serve residents and visitors, but William, Marty and Stacy went well beyond the call of duty that day,” said NC DOT Division One Engineer Jerry Jennings. “This is well-deserved recognition.”

The Extra Mile Award recognizes department employees for significant contributions over and above normal job duties.