For first responders, attending to crash victims on roads — especially on interstates — can be nerve-racking.

“Responding to any sort of roadway is one of the most dangerous places we can be,” said Mandy Cousins, Cranberry Township EMS outreach coordinator.

The Sunday death of a Rostraver-West Newton Emergency Services supervisor only highlighted that risk.

“Matthew Smelser’s death is a tragic reminder of the risk taken by emergency personnel across the state each day to rescue Pennsylvanians in distress,” Gov. Tom Wolf said Monday as he ordered flags in the commonwealth lowered to half-staff on all public buildings and grounds.

Smelser was killed helping a crash victim just before 6 a.m. Sunday on Interstate 70 near the Smithton exit in Westmoreland County. He was struck by a vehicle while exiting his ambulance.

In just the first week of 2020, five first responders and tow truck drivers have been killed while responding along roads and highways across the country, according to Cranberry Deputy Chief Matt Nickl.

And while first responders take precautions to ensure their own safety, Cousins pointed out that passing motorists must take also steps to help keep responders safe.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appeared in Thursday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article which talks about the precautions first responders take while answer call and what drivers should do to make a responders job safer.