Salt Lake City,UT : Vineyard woman helps man killed in crash not leave life lonely on August, Monday 28th 2017

Taryn Hiatt got onto Interstate 15 on Aug. 28 assuming her commute to Salt Lake City would be an uneventful, typical ride.

But a few minutes after she entered from 800 North in Orem, Hiatt approached the 1600 North exit and witnessed a horrific crash.

“I saw an old diesel cross the lanes of traffic. I saw him hit the wall and I saw his body get thrown out,” she said, holding back tears.

Hiatt was close to the express lane so she pulled over and ran to the crashed truck, seeing that traffic had come to a halt.

Hiatt had no idea that she’d witness a man’s last moments that day. Hiatt didn’t know her morning would be spent on the side of I-15 cradling Allen Cox’s head as she waited for paramedics. Hiatt assuredly didn’t expect the emotional toll that would be thrust on her shoulders from her simple act of kindness.

“I’m emotionally beat,” she said the day after the crash. “It was hard, because there was nothing anyone could do, but I didn’t want him to just lay there by himself.”

Hiatt is just one of so many individuals who, when they see a motorist in need, act as good Samaritans, providing anything from emergency CPR to a warm blanket, all for the sake of improving another’s day at the sacrifice of their own commute or time.

“It’s all about being in the right place and right time,” said Ben Kelly, part of the Incident Management teams with the Utah Department of Transportation.

Cox died on impact, but Hiatt cradled his head and stroked his hair while he lay lifeless on the road. Another woman ran to a car to get something to cover Cox’s body, and another man checked for Cox’s pulse.

When Hiatt jumped from her car, she said she didn’t see Cox as a stranger. She saw Cox as her neighbor, as a friend in need of help, which may be why so many in Utah are so willing to help motorists in need.

“I think we as a community, we really do care about each other. We care about our neighbors. “It restores your faith in humanity to see people stopped, people cared.”

Hiatt works for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a career she deems very rewarding after her father committed suicide. Seeing Cox’s body brought back emotions to when her father took his life.

“I just kept thinking of my own dad, and I thought I wouldn’t want him to die alone,” she said. “I wouldn’t want my loved one to die alone, so my instinct was to go and support him.”

As compassionate as Hiatt’s actions were, she can also count herself lucky that she was able to leave the scene safely.

John Gleason, spokesman for UDOT, said I-15 is an extremely dangerous road and pulling over to help can cost a good Samaritan’s life as well.

“Unfortunately, we have seen our fair share of good Samaritans who had all the best intentions and they paid a heavy price,” Gleason said. “We don’t want to make a dangerous situation more dangerous.”

Kelly and the Incident Management teams patrol I-15 and other state roads most of the day. If they get a call, they’ll be there to assist as fast as possible.

But the difference between Hiatt and Kelly is in the equipment, and Gleason said that unless the situation calls for it, leave the roadside rescues to the Incident Management teams.

“A good rule of thumb is the freeway is no place for pedestrians,” he said. “The best thing you can do is for somebody stalling on the freeway is call 911.”

Kelly said the more people who call 911 the better, because it helps dispatchers put together a scene and inform emergency services of what to expect.

“We always want to encourage people to help,” Kelly said. “But you don’t want to put yourselves in harm’s way.”

For Hiatt, the traffic stopped and she was able to be in the right place. She saw other motorists on their phones, so she knew 911 was taken care of. And when she saw Cox alone on the road, she didn’t want him to die alone.

“That’s all I could think about, this was somebody’s dad, somebody’s grandpa, and he does not deserve to be on this freeway all by himself right now,” she said. “He just needed somebody to be there with him and love him. We’re all somebody’s somebody.”



Source :
Vineyard woman helps man killed in crash not leave life lonely