He Saw the Speeding Car. He Knew His SUV Could Stop It

A quick-thinking dad of three is being called a hero after throwing his Mercedes SUV in the path of a speeding car. The CBC and Montreal Gazette report Erick Marciano, 48, was on his way to a meeting Tuesday shortly after noon when he saw a Honda speed through a red light, cops right on its tail. Then, Marciano tells Daybreak Montreal, he saw the car make a U-turn and barrel straight toward an intersection filled with pedestrians. That's when he started honking his horn and drove his vehicle over the median and in the Honda's path. "I didn't want him to hurt anybody," he says. "I figured, sacrificing a car was really no big deal." CTV News reports the front bumpers of both cars were shattered from the impact; a taxi was also damaged. On how he had the presence of mind to know what to do, Marciano said he travels a lot to Europe and keeps on the lookout for terrorist attacks.

"I said, 'This isn't going to happen here.'" The city's mayor is grateful. "I salute the courage of Erick Marciano, whose heroic gesture saved the lives of many pedestrians," Valerie Plante tweeted. The 19-year-old suspect's mother is also glad Marciano was on the scene, as she says her son has mental health issues. "I don't think I'm a hero," Marciano tells CTV, adding that his wife and kids are proud of what he did but also think he's crazy. "I did what I had to do." As for his SUV being totaled, Marciano notes: "It's just metal. It really doesn't matter. Anything but life is replaceable." The suspect suffered non-life-threatening injuries and appeared in court Wednesday, where he faced charges including dangerous driving, assault with a weapon, driving a stolen vehicle, and failing to stop for police. No one else was injured. (More Montreal stories.)