While not our normal busy time of the year, this winter certainly has kept Howard County REACT on its toes.
Starting with the Girls on The Run 5k, our team was once again tasked to provide course communications, parking control, and safety for the 4th year in a row.. Girls on The Run is an organization focused on empowering and educating young girls in critical life skills. As in year’s past, this event went off without a hitch and actually achieved some of the largest numbers of participants we’ve seen yet!
Joe Rehder (Unit 625) manning one of the intersections at Girls on The Run 5lk
Mark Thornton (Unit 685) directs traffic at Girls on The Run 5k
Junior Member Anthony (Unit 666) helps direct traffic at Girls on The Run 5K
Other reports include an incident on December 22nd, when team member Mark Thornton (Unit 685) came across a vehicle accident on Interstate 95 in which the tire came off of one vehicle, causing another to hit it. While no one was injured, Mark stayed with the accident until Howard County Fire and & Rescue arrived on scene.
Winter weather also played into this month’s report. A small, but under-forecasted snow storm hit our area on January 7th bringing about 3 inches of snow, but considering forecasters only predicted a dusting, caused major chaos. This is because local road crews didn’t place down salt brine or prepare snow plows at full readiness ahead of the storm.
As a result, team President David Perry(Unit 687) and Anna Pelletier (Unit 614) had to assist motorists on several occasions including a vehicle accident on Woodstock Road and another incident involving numerous stuck vehicles on a hill further down the same road. When David and Anna arrived at the second incident, they immediately realized no one should try to go down the hill as it was a solid sheet of ice and contacted Howard County Police about the hazard. After assisting numerous motorists resume their journey, David & Anna advised the remaining drivers of the hazard and convinced them to turn around until county police arrived and shut down the road..
The last major incident of the month involved an impaired driver discovered by David & Anna. While on their way home, David noticed a vehicle on the side of the road that appeared to be high-sided on a hill, unable to move. He also noticed that the tire tracks from the vehicle ran through a field up to the point the vehicle became stuck and not directly from the road… very unusual. Once they pulled over, they noticed the vehicle was still running and was revving in high RPMs. Upon further examination, David found the driver hunched over the steering wheel.
With this discovery, David opened the door and woke up the driver. The driver seemed very incoherent. David then indicated to Anna to contact police and EMS after asking the driver several questions to which the driver gave disconnected answers… indicating the driver was either intoxicated or having a medical emergency (possibly diabetic). After a few minutes of communication, the driver indicated he wanted to drive away. David was able to distract him and removed the keys from the ignition, hiding them in the vehicle until EMS arrived because the driver was in no condition to drive.
Baltimore County Police & EMS on scene with imparied driver
Once EMS arrived, the driver refused medical treatment. The driver was then questioned by police. While making a statement to the police, the driver then became very belligerent. It is unknown what happened after this as David & Anna continued home.