BRAVE YOUNG MEN STOP RUNAWAY CAR.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

Johnny Lara and his two buddies felt fortunate to come across famed hot rod enthusiast Louis Senter as he worked on his flashy yellow 1923 Model T roadster, the same one as on the cover of Hot Rod magazine.

But Senter said Monday he's actually the fortunate one: The 1,300-pound hot rod rolled on top of him while he was talking with the three - and they managed to pull him to safety.

``It probably would have kept going with me under it. I was lucky that the boys were there,'' said Senter, a burly 78-year-old who escaped with only a broken right ankle and injured left knee.

The trio - Lenny Trujillo, 16, Lara, 18, and Roland Gomez, 29 - said anyone would have had the same reaction.

``Hey, anybody would do it. If I would have been the one under the car, he would have done it,'' said Lara, a Santa Clarita resident.

``It was very scary because there were cars coming in the opposite direction and they had to swerve,'' Lara recalled. ``I thought he was hurt really bad.''

To thank the trio, Senter plans to give them a session about how to build hot rods.

``They were really very nice. I'll give the kids a little talk,'' said Senter, who has built three Indianapolis 500 racers and displays his street rod in shows and magazines.

The accident occurred about 9:10 p.m. Friday in the 7800 block of Lindley Avenue when Senter's car stalled on the way home from a car show. While working on the car, the rod rolled backward over him, pinning him to the ground and crushing his right leg.

``It started right on me. It started rolling backward and I tried to run to turn the key off, but the left front wheel caught me. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground,'' Senter said.

The three had been at a church sleepover nearby and were playing football when the flashy car captured their attention. Minutes after they began talking to him, the car jolted back.

``All of a sudden, the car just turned on and went in reverse. The man tried to hold the car back, but it dragged him,'' said Trujillo, a Reseda resident.

Gomez and Trujillo found the ignition switch under the dashboard and turned it off. ``He had so many switches on his car. I finally switched the right one off,'' said Gomez, of Santa Clarita.

``We pushed the car forward and Rolando helped him up,'' Trujillo said.

Senter later realized that he had inadvertently knocked the vehicle in gear before turning on the ignition.

If anything, Senter said he has learned a lesson: He will install the safety switch he's been meaning to install for years on his street rod.

Bill Thompson, a parishioner at International Missionary Church who was working with a youth group at the time of the accident, also lauded the three.

``I think it sets an excellent example. Not everyone gets involved. I think they acted without any regard for their own safety. They acted on impulse, and I'm proud of them,'' Thompson said.

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PHOTO From left to right are Johnny Lara, 18, Roland Gomez, 29, Lenny Trujillo, 16, and Louis Senter with Senter's 1923 Model T roadster.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News