Roadside rescuers brave danger to help others

Feb. 24—Breaking down on an interstate or a busy highway can be a terrifying and helpless experience.

Motorists stranded on the roadside are in a dangerous and precarious situation — as are those who come to the rescue. They are surrounded by impatient motorists, perhaps narrow shoulders, inattentive drivers and those who whiz past the scene at 60 miles an hour or faster.

But for Garret McFalls, putting himself in harm's way to help others is just another day on the job. McFalls is a roadside assistance patroller with the N.C. Department of Transportation.

He provides motorists with assistance when accidents or breakdowns occur, known as the Incident Management Assistance Patrol — and it's one of the most dangerous jobs around.

McFalls got a surprise this week when an entourage of officials showed up at the door of a CPR class he was teaching at the DOT office in Clyde.

They had come to present McFalls with a statewide award given to a top IMAP responder each year. The Roscoe Award is named after Roscoe Narron, an IMAP responder who was struck and killed on I-40 in Raleigh in 2001.

Sadly, being hit is not uncommon. Of the 13 IMAP patrollers in the 17 western counties, 11 have been hit by motorists while doing their job, said Chad Franklin, who supervises the Regional Intelligent Transportation System.

Following the award presentation, McFalls shared the scariest moment he's personally faced on the job. He was beneath a vehicle on I-26 trying to get a spare tire out.

A motorist must have been looking at the accident and drifted into a tractor-trailer. They hit the guard rail just in front of where McFalls was working, before bouncing off and hitting the guardrail on the other side.

"There I was underneath the vehicle and there was nothing I could do," McFalls recalled. "It was the scariest situation I've been in."

McFalls sees his job as a calling to help others. That was evident in his nomination form, which described an example of McFalls going above and beyond.

A woman's car caught on fire on the side of interstate and destroyed everything inside — except one shoe and her dog.

McFalls and the responding trooper made it a mission to help since all her credit cards, her computer, her cell phone and everything else she was traveling with was gone.

McFalls took her to Target to buy a pair of shoes, food for herself and her dog and other essentials she would need until she could get help. The trooper paid for her hotel room.

"God put me in a position to help her, and that's what I did," he said.

While the award was a surprise, McFalls said he knew something was up when he saw a host of "red jackets" — N.C. DOT supervisors from Raleigh — show up at his CPR class.

McFalls, who lives in Haywood County, has worked with IMAP six years and is the senior IMAP responder. He has proven himself as an able leader and a shining example of dedication and service to the IMAP mission, Franklin said.

After the award was announced, the CPR session was further hijacked as state, regional and local colleagues sang McFall's praises. Those on the selection committee said the application was heads and shoulders above the others received this year.

Supervisors spoke of his readiness to serve, noting he was often the one calling them just as they learned of an incident asking where he was needed. Others said the one thing they knew about McFalls is that he would never tell them 'no' when help was needed.

A noble trade

Western Deputy Chief Engineer Mark Gibbs congratulated all the IMAP drivers who put their own lives on the line for the program. He said he believed the safety patrol was one of the best programs at the N.C. DOT.

"We realize the dangers you face," he said.

Other department leaders spoke of the high-stress situation IMAP drivers face at accident or other roadside emergency scenes.

The drivers are interacting with motorists at one of their very worst moments and are surrounded by impatient drivers anxious to reach their destination. During all that, the IMAP drivers' mission is to keep people safe and traffic moving.

The day before, IMAP driver Chris Strader was providing assistance on a slow-roll operation when he noticed a vehicle quickly approaching from behind.

His fast action probably saved the life of the elderly man and his own. With the car fast-approaching from behind, Strader sped up as fast as he could, but was still rear-ended — a blow that shoved the back end of his truck into the cab.

When asked to talk about the incident, Strader said there wasn't much to say.

"The gentleman just didn't see me, and I was just trying to get out of the way," he said.

Both vehicles remained in the right lane, neither were seriously injured and there were no other motorists harmed.

His supervisors praised his quick thinking and noted they told him to rest up, but couldn't say they were surprised he was at work the following day. They joked he must have paid the doctor off to sign his medical release.

A stellar employee

Franklin and his colleagues talked about the early days of working with McFalls — he was so quiet he barely talked. They, along with his new wife Jessica, confirmed much has changed.

"It's like you spend the first two years teaching a baby to talk and then he won't shut up," she said jokingly.

His supervisors said in the early months, there was certainly no talking back because McFalls had so little to say about anything.

As time passed, it turned out McFalls had plenty to say — and to offer — due to his eagerness to learn about everything. During his 11 years of experience with the Clyde Fire Department, he volunteered to go on every call he could. That experience responding to emergencies is beneficial to his role as an IMAP responder.

Marion Ferguson, Mountain Region Incident Management Engineer, recalled how he had approached his supervisor with a problem years ago. He was told to come back when he had a solution.

That lesson was one that McFalls already knew, noting he did just that when he saw an issue that needed correcting.

Here's an excerpt of the introduction McFalls received when getting the award:

"Garret excels in his knowledge and ability in proactive communications with all parties involved, whether it be public, first responders, media, staff, towers, law enforcement, or any other person or supporting agency. Garret has exhibited his ability to supervise staff through his efforts in scheduling special projects with fellow IMAP Responders and tracking their progress through those projects. Through his abilities as a CPR/First Aid instructor, along with the training and mentoring of new IMAP responders, he has proven adept at training, motivating, counseling, and further tracking his subordinates."