By EMS1 Staff
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A firefighter urged the public to follow the state law and move over to keep responders safe when responding to crashes.
WKBN reported that Liberty Township Fire Lt. Chris Olson responded to a rollover crash and “was not able to get out of the vehicle because passing motorists were not pulling over.”
“We had a lot of people who were kind of making eye contact with me while we were trying to move them over, acting like, well, there was no room for me to go so instead of slowing down they just kept their foot on the gas and were blowing right by us,” Lt. Olson said.
Lt. Olson shared his frustration of the common occurrence on the department’s Facebook page and stressed that response time is slowed when responders cannot exit the vehicle.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2039894706038334&id=173883902639433
“It took more than one minute for the paramedic in the passenger seat to be able to SAFELY exit the vehicle!” Lt. Olson wrote. “The paramedic in question was only able to exit the ambulance safely when he had the chance to half open his door, stand on the running board and WILDLY point with big arm gestures for the oncoming traffic to MOVE OVER!”
Lt. Olson also reminded Facebook users of the Ohio state law that “says you must move over one lane for any vehicle with flashing or rotating lights on.” He urged drivers to follow the law to keep responders safe.
“Please help us from being struck by a car while doing our job. Please help us not become permanently injured for life due to poor driving decisions. Please help our families not have to be told unthinkable news about someone running us down on the side of the road!”
The Facebook post was shared over 500 times, and Lt. Olson said he thinks it’s resonating with their followers.
“It seems as though we’re getting the entire public who is feeling as though this is a safety issue and that they need to spread the word. So, we think it’s a great thing it’s reaching so many people in such a short time.”