Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

So I'm on my way home from picking up my son after my day ended. I am headed southbound on the interstate. I was going 70 and this guy passes me like I was standing still. Some of you pros can probably estimate his speed. Seriously, he passed me like I was parked. Anyway, I am in the right lane and he is in the center. I see his back end start to fishtail and I start thinking "Oh sh-t." He lost it and slammed the median so hard it lifted his entire car off the ground. It happened so fast that I drove right past him before his car could shoot back across the freeway. (Which I'm not sure if it actually did)

Anyway, I grabbed the handy cell phone and called it in immediately. I did not stop because my three year old son was in the back seat and I did not want to park on the side of the interstate with him in the car for obvious safety reasons. Anyway, I gave the exact location, direction of travel, and even the make and model of the car to the dispatcher.

Her response was "Are you stopped right now." I told her no. She proceeded to very rudely berate me for not pulling over. I told her that I had my son in the car and it was not safe for me to do that. She said it didn't matter I should have stopped. I told her I was not involved in the accident. Doesn't matter, she said, you still have to stop.

And as if that isn't bad enough. I offered to leave my name, address, and phone number with her so that I could be contacted if they needed a statement (which I would gladly have given), and the idiot hangs up on me. I have never been so pissed off at a dispatcher in my life. And having been a firefighter/emt for 7 years before turning to my scholarly pursuits, that is saying quite a bit.

I don't think I did anything wrong. In fact, I think I did exactly what any normal good citizen would do. I sure as hell wasn't going to put my son's life at risk by parking on the side of the freeway just to say "yes, he hit the wall."

Seriously guys, did I do anything wrong? Trust me, if I did, please let me know so I can do better next time.....assuming there is one. All I can say is that I hope the officer who filled out the accident report was wearing his hat.

Hutch

In my opinion no. We have no law REQUIRING you to stop at a crash. Your state may vary. You had your young son and to stop anywhere near a crash on the " I " is hazardous as other traffic will come upon it equally fast and present a clear danger to you.

You called 911 and got the troops rolling. Morally, it wouldbe nice to pull over and render aid but a 2 lane inthe country is quite a bit different than being out on the big road.

You should call the PD that covers that area and offer to give them your witness statement AND tell them about the dispatcher who almost made you NOT call with what coud be important info. ( This guy may claim someone ran him off of the road ( you ??) or a deer ran out etc.

Thanks. I think I'll give them a ring in the morning. I would have stopped, naturally, if I did not have my son with me. That is the only reason that I didn't. I'm in Texas and I don't know of a law requiring you to stop unless you were actually involved in the accident. But I'll give them a holler tomorrow and at least offer to give a statement if they need one.

But damn! He hit the wall hard. Luckily he spun and hit on the passenger side rather than the driver side. And there was no passenger. It was kind of strange. I've responded to more serious accidents than I can remember. But rarely do you see one happen.

Hutch

You did do something wrong. You didn't call back and speak to the dispatcher's supervisor.

I say you should have stopped and checked to see that the people in the car were all right. The safety of your child is second to you checking the other car because the other car might have had a cat or dog in it that was injured and needed attention. Children are less of a priority than protecting animals plus, if something happend to your child you could always make more!!! Shame on you!



In case you didn't get it I was being sarcastic. Obviously we should help each other as human beings but quite honestly there are people that really don't deserve help and by the sounds of how fast this guy was going he may very well have been one of them :D

Nice one Chewy. I've only seen one accident happen. The guy in front of me ran a red light and got T-boned (Buick Skylark hit a Geo Metro...). I stopped right there at the light (two lanes, I blocked my lane since the crash was blocking that lane anyways) and turned my hazards on. I was on the phone with 911 before I even stopped. Luckily neither of the drivers were hurt, but the guy in front of me thought he had a green. I helped direct traffic around the scene until I was relieved by a fire fighter, who then thanked me for my help. My heart has never pumped so hard before, even though I wasn't even involved in the crash.

I say you should have stopped and checked to see that the people in the car were all right. The safety of your child is second to you checking the other car because the other car might have had a cat or dog in it that was injured and needed attention. Children are less of a priority than protecting animals plus, if something happend to your child you could always make more!!! Shame on you!


ROFL! Yes, shame on me!

Hutch

If the dispatcher said you did wrong, you did wrong!!!! Except it!! Dispatchers know ALL!!!

:rolleyes:

Texas has NO law requiring someone to stop who was not involved. Hell, you were under no legal obligation to even report it.

I would call and talk to a supervisor about the conduct of the dispatcher.

Anyway, I grabbed the handy cell phone and called it in immediately. I did not stop because my three year old son was in the back seat and I did not want to park on the side of the interstate with him in the car for obvious safety reasons. Anyway, I gave the exact location, direction of travel, and even the make and model of the car to the dispatcher.
You did a lot by just calling it in. You could have said anonymous and hung up. I don't blame you. Let the authorities handle it and continue on your way.

Ditto everyone else. Your priority is the safety of your child and that's a dangerous place to be parking your car. Especially when you consider everyone else would be rubbernecking the accident and not necessarily paying attention to their own driving.

Definitely file a complaint on the dispatcher. You need to do that ASAP because the calls are probably recorded for a certain amount of time.

If the dispatcher said you did wrong, you did wrong!!!! Except it!! Dispatchers know ALL!!!

:rolleyes:

No they don't...They're never out in hte field, they don't know what it's like :D

I called today and spoke with the day shift sergeant. He is going to have the officer who investigated the accident contact me this evening when he gets in to determine whether or not he actually will need a witness statement from me.

I also voiced my concerns over the dispatcher's conduct. He told me that it will be addressed. The dispatch supervisor will be contacting me later on today or tomorrow to discuss it. I would love to see his (or her) face when they hear the tape! :eek:

Hutch

No they don't...They're never out in hte field, they don't know what it's like :D

:rolleyes:

I say you should have stopped and checked to see that the people in the car were all right. The safety of your child is second to you checking the other car because the other car might have had a cat or dog in it that was injured and needed attention. Children are less of a priority than protecting animals plus, if something happend to your child you could always make more!!! Shame on you!

LOL you had me going for the first sentence and a half! I was like, who the $^%# does this guy think he is! You're funny Chewy!

You're funny Chewy!

I agree. I almost called the ACLU and PITA on myself.

Hutch

Oh, this is a perfect thread to post my response. I was going on vacation to see my family in VA, it was raining out and I hydroplaned and went off the road along with another guy I got out of my car as another car pulled over to see if we where alright, the guy had just got out of his car and down to me as another car started to hydropanled and slid right into the guy who had stoped to see if we where ok car. So, I do not think you did anything wrong after seeing something like that. I also am not a LEO though.

I don't believe nothing was wrong with what you did. I would of done the same in your circumstances. Be thankful that you were only a witness and not the innocent victim.

Along with everyone else, I don’t blame you for not stopping. I have a 2 year old son, and in the same situation, I wouldn’t have stopped either. Always be cautious stopping to help, because you may become a victim as well.

The other day on the news, they reported that a local man had observed a vehicle into a telephone pole, so he stopped to assist. The man walked up to the vehicle that had crashed, leaving his wife in his vehicle. This man observed that there was no one in the crashed vehicle, so he turned around to walk back to his vehicle and walked into a power line that had just fallen. This helpful citizen died from electrocution on the way to the hospital. I looked for the article, but couldn’t find it. If I do I’ll post the link……..just something to think about if you decide to stop at any sort of emergency situation again.

Unable to find the link, but found the artical:
From: Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, Sept. 11.

Good Samaritan electrocuted at crash site
Shanksville – A 39-year-old Friedens man died early Saturday when he stopped to help an accident victim on Stutzmantown Road in Stoneycreek Twp.
-Victim- stopped at the scene of a single-vehicle accident just after midnight Saturday. As he walked up the road, -victim’s- head came in contact with live power lines that had been knocked loose in the accident, Shanksville firefighter Adam Palya said.
A passenger in –victim’s- car called 911. Rescue crews were already on the way and arrived within minutes.
-Victim- was taken to Somerset hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after 2 am, said state police from Somerset.
D.H. Pyle, 27, of Friedens was the driver in the accident. Police said Pyle swerved to miss a deer and his vehicle struck a utility pole. Pyle had gotten out of his vehicle and was calling police from a nearby home when –victim- arrived on the scene.

Where I live, if you are currently certified as an MFR or EMT, or above, then you are required to assist if possible, though I don't believe that this is very strictly enforced. Seeing how you had your son in the car with you, stopping would have created a dangerous situation for you and your son, and that would be an acceptable reason to not stop. You did the best thing by calling it in. I would report the incident with the dispatcher to their supervisor.

Texas has NO law requiring someone to stop who was not involved. Hell, you were under no legal obligation to even report it.

I would call and talk to a supervisor about the conduct of the dispatcher.
Tx, I thought we had a law saying that it was a misdemeanor to leave the scene of an accident and a felony if it involved serious bodily injury or death? Is that only if you're involved in the accident? Apologies for the hijack.

Hey Hutch, whatever happened when you talked to the investigating officer???

No, you didn’t do anything wrong. Actually, it drives me nuts when everyone and their mother stops at a T/C scene on the freeway. If it were out in a county road at 2am then that might be a different story. Stopping on the freeway just increases the chances of another collision occurring. If my child is in the vehicle I would just continue. Even when I’m off duty I usually don’t stop or call it in unless I know someone is seriously injured. When an accident happens in a populated area, there are about 20 people calling 911 and I don’t need help tie up the lines.

In this situation I would have to say I would not risk my kids life over a dirtbag, however some states such as the one I live in has a law (Failure to stop and render aid). Under my states statue this is a serious crime and is arrestable.

Don't get me wrong "I WOULD NOT RISK MY FAMILY FOR A DIRTBAG" I just wanted you to be aware that there are laws in some states that even protect the DIRTBAGS. :mad:

In Washington, we have a "good Samaritan" law. If you see someone in need of aid, such as a car accident, and it appears they haven't received help yet, then you are required to give aid.

I wasn't aware though that it specifies "dirt bags". I was under the impression the law applies to everyone, regardless of level of intelligence.

I thought the thread had died....

Anyway, yes, I spoke with the investigating officer and gave a witness statement. He said he really didn't need one. Apparently the guy wasn't DWI or doped, but the officer wanted to cover all the bases. (naturally)

He assured me that if you are not involved in the accident, then in Texas you have no legal duty stop. That only applies if you are a party to the accident. And it is a fairly serious offense in Texas too, depending on the severity of the accident and/or injuries.

The operator of the vehicle was not seriously injured from what I could gather. And apparently they got a million 911 calls on it too. That figures, since it is a well traveled part of the interstate.

However, I did not ever hear from the dispatch supervisor.

In Washington, we have a "good Samaritan" law. If you see someone in need of aid, such as a car accident, and it appears they haven't received help yet, then you are required to give aid.

I wasn't aware though that it specifies "dirt bags". I was under the impression the law applies to everyone, regardless of level of intelligence.

The good samaritan law in Washington is not designed to force a person to become a rescuer but to encourge people to become a rescuer by removing the liability that may be incured if the person does more harm than good accidentally. You are not required by the law to get involved, but if you do get involved and act in good faith (i.e. are trying to help) then you will not be held liable (unless you caused the accident in the first place).

Wash. Rev. Code §70.136.070 (1987)(Gen. Stat.)
Wash. Rev. Code §70-54.310 (1999)(Immunity for AED User)

Provides immunity for rescuers
Provides immunity for acquirers of AEDs and enablers
Encourages/requires CPR & AED training per AHA guidelines


"Any person or public agency whose assistance has been requested by an incident command agency, who has entered into a written hazardous materials assistance agreement . . . at the scene of the incident pursuant to . . . RCW 70.136.070, and who, in good faith, renders emergency care, assistance, or advice with respect to a hazardous materials incident, is not liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the rendering of such care, assistance, or advice, other than acts or omissions constituting gross negligence or wilful or wanton misconduct."

The law requires that you be advised of certain conditions to ensure your protection:
1. You are not obligated to assist and you may withdraw your assistance at any time.
2. You cannot profit from assisting.
3. You must agree to act under the direction of the incident command agency.
4. You are not covered by this law if you caused the initial accident.