I STOOD ON THE CENTER LINE OF THE INTERSTATE AS THE 18-WHEELER BORE DOWN ON US, REALIZING TOO LATE THAT THE BRAKES WEREN'T GOING TO HOLD IN TIME. The dispatch radio was screaming, the asphalt was burning through my uniform, and the terrified puppy at my feet was too frozen by the roar of the engine to move a single inch. I had spent twenty years writing tickets and clearing accidents, but as that chrome grille filled my vision, I knew this was the moment that would define whether I went home a h