LUDLOW, Ky. — Ron Lantz insists he's no hero.
Everybody else in his hometown of Ludlow, not to mention all the relieved folks in the Washington area, disagree.
"Anybody who can turn these two guys in, you're definitely a hero," says Lisa Miller of Ludlow. "How can you not be a hero?"
Lantz, 61, a 35-year veteran truck driver nearing retirement, spotted the two Washington-area sniper suspects in a Maryland rest stop and called 911. About 10 minutes later, the two suspects were arrested.
"I just did what I thought I was supposed to do," shrugged Lantz. "I probably saved a life right there in the rest area.
"If I receive a reward, I'll give at least half of it to the families of people killed by the snipers. But I'm no hero. I don't want to be classified as a hero."
However, it was a hero's welcome the unassuming Lantz received when he returned to his home in Ludlow, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, at 4 p.m., Thursday.
Neighbors cheered as Lantz walked down the sidewalk. Children asked for his autograph.
Friends patted him on the back.
"Thinking back on it, all of a sudden I just saw the car I had been hearing about on the radio. There it was. And things fell into place. It's odd the way things happen.
"I think it is great, awesome, remarkable," said neighbor Tony Ledonne, 32. "Ron is really a good guy. He takes kids to church every Sunday. Everybody here is so proud of him."
Lantz's daughter, Ronda Zwick, 32, said her father "has always been very considerate, always willing to help people."
"I think he knew he was putting himself in danger, but he wanted to help. My mom is about ready to kill him because he put himself in such great danger.
"I can't explain how proud I am of him. It's so unbelievable, I just can't put it into words."
Lantz said he left Wilmington, Del., at 11 p.m. Wednesday night. He was listening to the Truckin' Bozo radio show on WLW-AM out of Cincinnati when show host Dale Summers gave a description of the car police were looking for.
Lantz described what happened next.
"I pulled into a rest area that I always stop at to go to the restroom. There was this blue Chevrolet Caprice sitting there. I saw a man with his head on the steering wheel like he was asleep. I saw another man standing outside the car with something in his hands. I couldn't tell what it was.
"I said to another truck driver, 'There's something funny about that car. That's the car they're looking for.' I called 911. I told them there was a blue Chevrolet Caprice in the rest area that they may be interested in.
"About 10 or 15 minutes later, about 50 police and FBI and ATF and state troopers pulled in. The most officers I've ever seen in my life. They were just swarming in.
"They (police) told us (truck drivers) to pull our trucks up and block the road. Me and another trucker put our two 18-wheelers side by side to block the exit of the car. If they (the car occupants) had been looking, they would have seen what we were doing. I don't think they knew anything about it.
"I was surprised the car was there. It was under bright lights, just about 15 yards from the restroom.
"The police came out with guns drawn and surrounded the car. ... The car was still sitting there when I left. The police got my name and Social Security number and said they would get in contact with me later."
Lantz said he wasn't worried about his safety the entire time he was in the rest area.
"But after I left, I started to think about it and I felt kind of nervous," he said.
Lantz, who drives for Bass Trucking of Flemington, N.J., said he only has five more trips left before he retires.
He says he always drives the same route every week, making two round-trips between Monroe, Ohio and Wilmington, Del., hauling construction material for storm doors and windows.
Lantz said he knew there was a reward "of a half-million or $600,000" offered for information leading to the arrest of the snipers.
"If I get any reward money, I'll take it right back and give it to the families of the shooting victims — at least half of it," he said. "I don't know if I was the first to call 911. I could have been. Or, there could have been other people calling 911, too. I don't know. I just wanted to do the right thing.
"I'm a very Christian man and I think I did a real good deed. I might have saved some lives."
Lantz said he was surprised at how fast things happened in the rest area early Thursday morning.
"Thinking back on it, all of a sudden I just saw the car I had been hearing about on the radio. There it was. And things fell into place. It's odd the way things happen.
"I'm just glad it's over with. Thank God, it's over."