CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Union County water meter technician is being praised as a lifesaving hero.

Jason Belk, who covers the northern end of Union County for its water department, has been on the job about a year.

What You Need To Know

  •  Jason Belk was given the county's Lifesaver Award

  •  Belk stopped to help a woman suffering a suspected overdose

  •  After flagging down firefighters from the road, Belk says he did what he hoped anybody else would do in the same situation

“I probably put on anywhere from 200 to 300 miles every couple days,” Belk said.

He said the daily freedom to set his own route is what he loves.

“The amount of autonomy, we have a really good group of guys, that do this job and we’re trusted to do our job,” Belk added.

The freedom to make his own route is also what put him in the right place at the right time one afternoon in Nov. 2022.

“Traffic was coming, so I wasn’t moving. I looked in front of me to see what traffic was doing. I turned back, and by the time that something had rolled over and I realized it was a person,” Belk recalled.

Belk said he thought he saw a bundle of debris on the side of the road, which turned out to be a woman in distress. He noticed it was a woman when the bundle started moving and rolled over, revealing her face.

Belk parked his truck at the corner of Charlotte and Seymour to help the woman, when he noticed a passing fire truck.

“[I] Waved to them, trying to flag them down, and they waved back at first. I talked to the fireman later, and they were trying to figure out what a Union County water person was doing stopping in the city of Monroe,” Belk said. “They hooked her up to an EKG, trying to figure out what’s going on, and then they made the assessment to try NARCAN.”

Firefighters administered the NARCAN to the woman, and she immediately came to, according to Belk. After the successful NARCAN treatment, he said first responders continued to help the woman, and he eventually left the area.

Union County Manager Brian Matthews says Belk was instrumental in getting help for the woman and saving her life. In mid-December, officials awarded Belk with the county’s Lifesaver Award for his actions.

The award was presented during a Union County Water team meeting.

Looking back, Belk said he hopes anyone would have done the same, but gave his parents the credit for setting an example.

“Momma for sure made sure we became the best that we could be and daddy was an example. He was the type of person to give you the shirt off his back, never ask for it to be returned,” Belk said while on the road again, headed to his next call.