FACE IT: Report Slides: Sergeant Struck by a Motor Vehicle on Interstate Highway – New Mexico

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
• Description:
  On December 5, 2013, a 47-year-old sheriff's office sergeant was fatally injured when he was struck by a motorist while investigating several motor vehicle crashes on an interstate highway. The sergeant had been dispatched in response to reports of multiple, minor motor vehicle crashes under blizzard conditions. Disabled vehicles were situated on the shoulders of the northbound and southbound interstate lanes, as well as in the median. Officers from state and county law enforcement agencies had responded to the scene. During the response, the sergeant crossed the highway to speak to other officers. He was walking along the northbound shoulder, facing traffic, when a passing motorist lost control of his vehicle and slid onto the shoulder, striking the sergeant. After stabilization by fire and rescue personnel at the scene, the sergeant was transported to a nearby Level 1 trauma center, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: 1. Weather - the occurrence of severe weather with little or no warning, causing low visibility and icy road surfaces for motorists; 2. Motorist - not moving into the left lane and/or slowing to a speed permitting a complete stop if required; 3. Scene management, traffic control - multiple, minor motor vehicle crashes in the same location within a short period of time, limited resources to commit to response; 4. Low-frequency, high-risk event - the number and proximity of weather-related crashes in the area was unusual. KEY RECOMMENDATIONS: NIOSH investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences: 1. Law enforcement agencies should consider employing continuous size-ups by an officer in position to monitor the entire response scene and assess and manage the risks of operating at a highway/roadway incident. 2. Law enforcement agencies should consider implementing an incident command system when responding to highway/roadway incidents. 3. Law enforcement agencies should ensure that officers are provided with temporary traffic control devices and that additional traffic control resources are available to respond to escalating incidents. 4. Law enforcement agencies should ensure that officers wear suitable high-visibility, retro-reflective vests when operating at highway/roadway incidents. 5. State, county, and municipal authorities should consider developing pre-incident plans and standard operating procedures for traffic incident management in response to highway/roadway incidents. 6. Law enforcement agencies should ensure that all members receive training for conducting emergency operations at highway/roadway incidents. 7. State, county and municipal authorities should consider implementing public awareness campaigns to inform motorists of the risks that law enforcement officers face while operating along the roadside and of the need to follow move-over laws. The full version of this report is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/in-house/L201401.html. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Emergency Responders Law Enforcement Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Accidents Clothing Emergency Responders Law Enforcement Workers Motor Vehicles Police Officers Region 6 Surveillance Training Traumatic Injuries

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Structure Fire: Arson
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Law Enforcement Officers (LEO)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHLEO201401RS
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  New Mexico ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066784
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, LEO 2014-01, 2023 Jan; :1-9
• Contact Point Address:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation, Surveillance and Field Investigations Branch, Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, 1000 Frederick Lane, M/S 1808, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505-2888
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20131205
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9f1f5450dfe86c0bd3ef0a6bce5a958688fbba9eda9b32711e9666a9a83021890f61d04261ea8fd9f38a6ba637b6da0289c7e51f84ff2d01b304bb735c28dd2b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228548/cdc_228548_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 723.69 KB ]