OPINION: Many stepped up in time of need

Jan. 4—It was a tragedy on the Ohio Turnpike over the Christmas holiday.

Almost 50 vehicles were involved and four people died in the accident in blizzard conditions.

The accident happened on a section of the highway in Erie and Sandusky counties on Dec. 23. Four motorists were killed as a result — Francisco Gutierrez-Martinez, 30, of Cleveland; Bernard M. Bloniarz, 59, of Napoleon, Ohio; Julie E. Roth, 37, of Toledo; and Emma L. Smith, 19, of Webberville, Michigan.

Roth had ties to Berlin Heights and her unborn child also did not survive the crash. Her family described her as a "beloved wife and a dedicated daughter, sister, aunt and niece."

Through it all there were many heroes, from the local first responders to the people at the Clyde schools who sent buses to transport people to warming centers and a place for first responders to warm up.

The Huron River Joint Fire District was called out that for a pile-up at the 106-mile mark on the Ohio Turnpike — 12 miles west of the U.S. 250 exit for Norwalk and Sandusky.

Huron River sent out nine men to the accident in two vehicles. Chief Kerry Jett of the Groton Township Fire Department was in charge of the scene.

"We were just there assisting Chief Jett," Huron River Assistant Chief Doug Long said. "It was their call and they did a great job. And they had another call that day. That was about the same spot as another big wreck a couple of years ago."

Huron River Chief Curt Stang said it is part of their job, and all of the credit goes to Jett and his department for leading the way.

Along with the men from Huron River came the department's Genesis Rescue Tools, sometimes referred to as the Jaws of Life.

"We had the battery-operated tools with 28-volt batteries," Long said. "Our tools were lasting longer and working better."

Long said a lot of the Jaws work on hydraulic power from the trucks and with all of the mangled vehicles they couldn't get close enough.

The battery-operated tools could get right to where they were needed, Long said. "These seem to be more balanced and lighter."

And the key to the tools is knowing how to use them.

"It is the training," Long said. "We do the training every month. That heavy rescue training they do every summer at the fairgrounds really paid off."

Paul Skidmore Jr. was one of the firefighters at the scene.

Had he ever seen anything like that before?

"Absolutely not," he said. "Not even something you can practice for at that extent. We found the commanding officer (Jett). He pointed us to where he wanted us to start."

"The wrecker companies had to move cars for us to get to the wrecks," he said. "A complete team effort."

The main problem was the bitter cold.

"We worked as long as we possibly could," he said. "We got warmed up and got back out.

"We were happy to help the people we could but sad we couldn't help more. That is part of being a first responder."

Long said Clyde sent school buses to transport people to warming shelters and had a bus for the firefighters to get warm.

Craig Miller was another Huron River firefighter on the scene.

"A lot different when you have that big of scenario," he said. "It is something that is hard to prepare for. You don't know what to expect when you get called on this big of a scene. A lot going on and the miserable weather didn't help."

Sandusky Register Sports Editor Brian Kollars got the story from the Clyde officials.

Bob Morris, the transportation director for Clyde-Green Springs Schools, was "kind of snoozing" in his chair when he took a call from Clyde's athletic director, Ryan Greenslade, early in the afternoon of Dec. 23. Greenslade asked whether Morris would be interested in driving a school bus to the Ohio Turnpike to help evacuate victims of a deadly pileup that left four dead and many injured.

"I was ready to go, anything to help," Morris said. "As far as driving, these buses handle good on the snow and ice. Now the whiteout, that's totally different."

Greenslade called Clyde superintendent Lucas Messer to get the OK, and he met Morris at the bus garage next to Green Springs Elementary at about 2:30 p.m.

Greenslade then fielded a call from the Clyde Fire Department, which wanted the bus to take a detour.

"Several of the wives were making hot dogs, hot coffee and hot chocolate," he said. "They asked if we could stop and grab stuff to take for the victims and for the firemen and first responders. That's what Clyde and Green Springs are all about.

"There were 47 vehicles out there with people that needed help. What if that was your family member? Wouldn't you want somebody to step up and help them out? That's been the consensus the last few days with people reaching out and saying thank you."

These are just a bunch of local people who stepped up when needed. Nobody will ever be able to erase the disaster of that day, but many will be grateful for the help they got from first responders and the two heroes from Clyde.

I have heard and read many things since the accident, but one stands out. It is something Long told me after the accident.

"This storm had very bad timing," Long said. "This was a bad time to be on the turnpike ... there were plenty of semis out there carrying loads. One goes sideways and it is a really mess.

"They need to shut the damn thing down when it is like this. They do that out west. Gates come down and they tell people to get a hotel room and wait it out."

It is something to keep in mind the next time a storm hits.

Mother Nature is undefeated. Please don't mess with Mother Nature.

Joe Centers is Reflector community editor. He can be reached at jcenters@norwalkreflector.com.