By Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
A tow-truck driver and a Virginia State Police trooper were injured Saturday while they were working the scene of an accident at mile marker 118 on Interstate 81.
Trooper R.D. Alley was working a prior crash that occurred at 7:10 a.m. on the left shoulder. Tow-truck driver Eugene Thomas Alls, 31, of Narrows, Va., was clearing the crash.
Jean Luc Fortner, 26, of Lebanon, Tenn., lost control of his vehicle, a 2003 Ford Expedition traveling in the far right lane, on the snow-covered roadway. The Ford crossed several lanes and struck Trooper Alley’s vehicle while he was seated in it. The crash propelled the state police vehicle into Alls, who was working to recover the vehicle damaged in the prior crash.
Trooper Alley was transported to a local hospital and treated and released.
Alls was admitted to the hospital with what were described as serious, but not life-threatening injuries. He did undergo at least one surgery.
Fortner was wearing his seat belt and was not injured. Three passengers in the Ford, two male juveniles and one female juvenile, were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Fortner was charged with reckless driving.
Tow-truck drivers perform one of the dangerous occupations in the nation. Recent statistics indicate that a tow-truck operator is killed on the job about every six days.
Virginia has a move-over law that requires drivers to move over if an emergency vehicle with flashing lights is parked on the shoulder. Typically, this means vehicles with red and blue lights, but most motorists don’t realize that tow trucks with yellow flashing lights are a danger, too.
Virginia’s move-over law was first enacted in 2002 and required drivers to move over one lane if they were passing stopped vehicles with flashing red or blue lights such as police or fire/rescue. A first-time violation of the law is punished as a simple traffic infraction.
Drivers who cannot move over safely are required to proceed with caution at an appropriate speed. In 2010, the law was expanded to include almost any vehicle that has flashing lights on the shoulder.
A second violation’s punishment for conviction is confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500 either or both.
Currently, Washington, D.C., is the only area in the United States that does not have a move-over law. Motorists are encouraged to change to a non-adjacent lane if they can do so safely, or to slow to no more than 15 mph on a non-divided highway or 25 mph on a divided highway.
The Virginia State Police say the law is simple: If drivers see an emergency vehicle, a VDOT worker, or a tow truck stopped on the side of the road, they are to move over or slow down if traffic prohibits moving over.
In the last 10 years across the country, 128 law enforcement officers have been struck by vehicles that failed to move over.
Shawn Lowery knows first-hand that many people don’t hit the brakes for tow-truck drivers. Eugene Alls, who was injured Saturday, is his driver. Early reports say the car that struck the tow-truck driver and the trooper was going at least 60 miles per hour.
“When they see flashing lights, they need to slow down, that’s what it all comes down to,” Lowery said this weekend.
The tow community is full of competition, but they’re also a tight-knit group when something like this happens. Several tow operators like Derrick Lancaster in Christiansburg are expressing concern about what happened this week.
“The life of a tow operator never ends. Towing never stops,” he said.
Interestingly, Lancaster has made a name for himself on the racetrack, but he points out that in so many ways, towing is more dangerous.
“I am more likely to get killed on the interstate than on the track,” he said. “I tell my drivers to never turn their back on ongoing traffic. It’s not a job for the faint of heart.”
Accident scenes are definitely dangerous situations for tow-truck drivers, according to Lowery. He said they put their lives on the line every day to help others. He estimated his company responds to 50-60 calls a week, or 25,000-plus calls per year, all involving incidents on the side of the road.
“In the end, we want to go home to our loved ones just like everyone else,” he said.
Lowery said Alls is facing a long recovery from the accident. “He will need lots of time to get healthy again,” he said.
To help the driver’s family with medical expenses, friends have started a GoFund account. The public can donate by going to Gofundme.com/f/tow-truck-drive-injured-responding-to-a-call.
— Sgt. Richard C. Garletts of the Virginia State Police contributed to this report.
