On a recent Saturday afternoon, I was driving down U.S. 280 for dinner and a movie with my husband.

As I came to a stop at the traffic light at the intersection of U.S. 280 and Shelby County 41, a sudden streak of dirt clouds and smoke to my right quickly attracted my attention.

My jaw dropped as I watched a young man angrily throw open the driver’s door of his small purple Ford, grab what looked like a crowbar out of the cab and stomp up to a red Chevrolet truck stopped a couple of vehicles back, brandishing the crowbar as if he intended to slam it down onto the truck hood.

This was the point when I stopped saying “Oh my God” and told my husband on the phone, “I have to call you back.”

I dialed 911 as I watched a woman leap out of the purple Ford’s passenger seat and dash up to the crowbar-wielding man. Through yells and physical force, she persuaded the man to get back into the truck, when he peeled out directly behind the red Chevy truck.

At this point, I was speaking with a 911 operator. The next thing I knew, the Ford screeched over into my lane, and when we stopped again I was able to give the operator his license plate number. A mile or two later, the Ford turned off onto another road.

The red Chevy was beside me at this point, and as I hung up the phone with the operator, I noticed two Shelby County sheriff’s cars pull onto U.S. 280 and pull over the red truck. I knew if sheriff’s deputies found the Chevrolet so quickly, they would no doubt track down the Ford as well.

When I was telling my husband about my adventurous afternoon later (after apologizing for letting him go so quickly and making him worry), I kept coming back to how quickly the 911 dispatcher and the sheriff’s deputies did their work.

There are days when I gripe about all the sheriff’s deputies and police cars on U.S. 280, but that Saturday, I was only grateful for their presence. Because I was part of the process first-hand, I realized for the first time just how watchful and completely committed to our safety our law enforcement officers are.

It was shocking to witness such an incident, especially in such a safe county, but the funny thing is, once it was over, I felt even safer than I had beforehand.

Amy Jones is the Associate Editor for the Shelby County Reporter. She can be reached at 669-3131 ext. 30 or by email at amy.jones@shelbycountyreporter.com.