MAINE, USA — Three years ago, Mainers mourned the loss of Hancock County Deputy Luke Gross, who was struck and killed by a motorist while responding to a vehicle that went off the road in Trenton.
“It was very sad,” Joe Lacerda, superintendent of operations for the Maine Department of Transportation for Bangor, said. "It was very [disheartening] to lose one of our own."
The tragedy serves as a reminder about the dangers first responders face each and every day.
"He was trying to help somebody, and he lost his life trying to help somebody,” Lacerda said.
Lacerda has been a volunteer firefighter for more than 40 years. He said he's had about a dozen close calls to being hit by vehicle while responding to a scene.
"We all wanna go home the way we came to work. We all wanna go home safely, and we can't do that without help from the public to help make sure they keep us safe," Lacerda said.
It's a feeling Holden and Eddington Fire Chief Ryan Davis knows all too well.
"There's no way of knowing what gonna happen and what those drivers are gonna do," Davis said. "It's one of, if not one of the most dangerous things we're gonna do out there."
According to the governor's declaration to establish Crash Responder Safety Week, in 2023 a traffic crash was reported in Maine every 15 minutes.
“Move over, give them space, and slow down," Davis said. "Understand that those first responders are out there, and they wanna go home at the end of the night."
During Crash Responder Safety Week and beyond, it's important to remember to move over when you see a first responder on the scene.
"You should be aware 24/7, 365 of people out there doing their job and that are trying to make the roads safe for you and your families," Lacerda said.