Accidents show need for law

Trooper Carmen Harrington saw a truck out of the corner of her eye and knew she couldn’t get out of the way in time.

She was standing on the fog line on an Interstate 90 exit ramp measuring a crash scene last week. The truck’s side mirror hit her between the shoulder blades and spun her around, and she was hit in the backside by the rear of the flatbed.

The driver told the other state troopers he didn’t see her. “He stopped,” Harrington said. “I could hear him. He was crying, and freaking out. He said, ‘Oh God, I hit her.’ “

Harrington, a Washington State Patrol trooper in Ritzville, said her worst injury was a compression fracture to her spine. And she’s bruised.

A Washington law that went into effect last summer requires motorists to distance themselves by one lane of traffic from emergency vehicles on the side of a roadway. Harrington’s incident is just one example of why the law was passed.

WSP has lost 26 officers in its 80-plus year history, said spokesman Trooper Jeff Sevigney. Only four of them died after being shot.

“The most dangerous part of our job by far is standing out on the road,” Sevigney said.

Veteran state trooper Joe Pass, a motorcycle officer, had pulled a driver over on the freeway near Liberty Lake. He was talking to the driver when another motorist lost control and hit his motorcycle.

“The bike went flying in the air and I went running,” Pass said. “My first instinct was to run to a place for safety, and then I was glad I hadn’t been sitting on the bike.”

Pass, 51, has worked traffic patrol on a motorcycle off and on since 1987.

“The whole job is working on the freeway,” Pass said. “I’m constantly worried about getting hit. There’s not a lot of room for error out there, you know.”

The trooper of 26 years said that fear is often why he approaches drivers from the passenger side of the car, away from traffic.

But law enforcement officers aren’t just in danger when they are standing on the roadside. Sitting in a patrol car on the side of the road can be hazardous as well.

Sgt. Lee Slemp’s patrol car was totaled when a driver rear-ended him.

He was on U.S. Highway 195 just south of Spokane near Paradise Road two winters ago.

“I was sitting in the car doing a collision report and a car came up behind me in the fast (left) lane. It was slick, and he slid into my car,” Slemp said. “What probably helped was I didn’t even see it coming. Otherwise I probably would have tensed up and been hurt.”

Freeway and highway drivers are supposed to stay to the right unless they need to pass.

According to the state’s new law, if there’s an emergency vehicle on the side of the roadway – whether it’s an ambulance, a firetruck or a law enforcement vehicle – motorists need to change lanes whenever possible to get away from it. If they can’t change lanes, they are supposed to slow down. The fine for disobeying is $101.

The man who hit Harrington will likely be cited, officials said.

Meanwhile, she’s back on patrol, having returned to duties within five days of the incident.

“Mentally the best thing for me is to get back to work,” Harrington said. “I figured the sooner I got back; the sooner I’ll get over being afraid.”