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| Lt. Tanner Blakesley's car was struck at full highway speed, which was propelled into another vehicle that struck Lt. Blakesley and seriously injured him. |
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| Lt. Tanner Blakesley |
By Lt. Tanner Blakesley, K28
I was a road trooper in
the Topeka area for two years when I woke up in a ditch. The driver of the
vehicle we had stopped was standing over me, asking me if I was okay. I
realized I had been hit by my patrol car after a passing vehicle struck the
rear of my car at full highway speed. Since that day, I have become a strong
enforcer of the "Move
Over Law."
That January was the first
day I was training a new trooper. We had stopped a vehicle on I-470 in Topeka,
and it became necessary to have the occupants exit their vehicle. I exited the
patrol vehicle to help the new trooper with this task. I approached the
driver's side of the vehicle, got the driver out of his car, searched him, and
escorted him into the ditch.
During this time, several
cars had not moved over. I diverted my attention from traffic and towards the
new trooper while he had the passenger exit the vehicle. The next thing I
remember is waking up in the ditch. I did not know what had happened. I was
able to put the parts of my broken memory together after seeing the video from
my patrol car cameras and talking to individuals at the scene. There’s nothing
like seeing video of yourself launched off your vehicle's windshield into the
air.
Three seconds after
walking between the stopped vehicle and my patrol car, another vehicle hit the
rear of my patrol car. The impact of my patrol car being hit propelled it into
the vehicle I had stopped. Unfortunately, I was hit by the corner of the patrol
car and thrown into the ditch. Three seconds later and my life, along with the
driver of the stopped vehicle, could have been very different. Most likely, we
both would have died that day because of a careless driver not moving over for
emergency workers on the side of the road.
After waking up, I didn’t
know just how bad I had been hurt. The new trooper checked on me first and told
me not to move. I could see the new trooper was taking control of the crash
scene. Luckily, he had managed to dive over the guard rail and escape serious
injury.
Even though I knew I was
hurt, I had adrenaline pumping through my body and got myself up and went up
the ditch to help. I quickly realized my injuries were serious; I had to sit
down and wait for more help. It would be four months before I returned to work,
but I know I was lucky to be alive and lucky to be able to even go back to
work.
Vehicles must Move Over or
Slow Down for emergency vehicles and work crews not just because it is what the
law requires, but because when a vehicle does not, it doesn't allow time for
those in the way to react and try to get out of harm’s way. It's easy to become
complacent when every day you see many cars not moving over.
Three seconds on one cold
January day could have ended differently for several people because of one
individual's carelessness and disregard of the Move Over Law.
Lt. Tanner Blakesley is with the Kansas Highway Patrol
