Paramedic lost legs, now tries to help others

Hayes educates about the Move Over Law

Posted: Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013

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2/6/2005 Tim Hayes PHOTO PROVIDED BY TIM HAYES

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CHRIS KEANE - Associated Press
Paramedic Tim Hayes, center, walks to the middle of the football field Friday night, Aug. 22, 2003, at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., to toss the coin before the kickoff of a high school game between Charlotte Independence and Charlotte Butler. Paramedics Annette Barnett, left, and Tony Patillo, along with Butler principal Joel Ritchie, right, escort him. Hayes lost both legs above the knee when he was struck by a vehicle while working at an accident scene on Interstate 77 following a snowstorm Jan. 23. (AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, Chris Keane)

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CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD -
2/10/03: Paramedic Tim Hayes, left, looks on as his wife, Susan Hayes, hugs his partner, Bobby Suarez, following a press conference at Carolinas Medical Center Monday. This was the first time Hayes has addressed the media following the accident in which he lost his legs. Suarez treated his partner on the scene. CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD - STAFF PHOTO

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Paramedics Tim Hayes and Bobby Suarez have received North Carolinas highest civilian honor for their heroic actions during the January 23 ice storm. Representative John Rhodes of Mecklenburg County presented them with The Order of the Longleaf Pine on behalf of North Carolina Governor Michael F. Easley. A number of other public safety professionals were also honored at the first annual Lake Norman Public Safety Awards Banquet at River Run Gold and Country Club in Davidson

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CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD -
2/10/03: Susan Hayes, left, looks on her husband, paramedic Tim Hayes, addresses a news conference at Carolinas Medical Center Monday. This was the first time Hayes has addressed the media following the accident in which he lost his legs. CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD - STAFF PHOTO

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Ten years ago, Tim Hayes stepped out of his Medic ambulance on Interstate 77 near Davidson during a snowstorm to see if he could help a motorist involved in a crash.

Moments later, he joined the still-growing list of law enforcement and emergency personnel who have been struck by other motorists while doing their jobs on roadsides.

A tractor-trailer slammed into the ambulance and two SUVs, pushing all four vehicles into Hayes on the side of the road.

Now retired from Medic, Hayes, 42, was reunited Wednesday – on the observance of North Carolina Move Over Day – with several of those who helped him on that snowy January 2003 day. Despite a law passed in 2001 that requires drivers to move over at least one lane while approaching flashing lights, he said injuries and deaths are still happening.

“Just a few weeks ago, I met a woman who didn’t even know about the Move Over Law,” said Hayes, who lives in Kannapolis and travels the country, talking to groups about the law.

“There’s still a need for education on this.”

As part of the effort to educate the public, the N.C. Department of Transportation set up digital billboards Wednesday at three locations on I-77 and I-85 with the message, “Move Over for Emergency Vehicles – It’s the Law.”

“The Move Over Law has helped,” said Heath Holland, a control room supervisor for the N.C. DOT’s regional incident management program in Charlotte.

Hayes said he can still see the incident happening.

“My partner yelled that our truck was being hit,” he said Wednesday. “I was able to turn around and brace myself. That might have saved my life.”

Fitted with prosthetic legs, Hayes said he started walking after about three months, but he needed additional medical treatment. It was late in 2004 before he was able to discard his crutches and wheelchair.

“Now I try my best to educate the public,” he said.

Federal statistics show more than 140 law enforcement officers across the U.S. have been killed in the past decade by passing motorists.

All 50 states now have Move Over laws, and the N.C. Highway Patrol says it issued more than 2,500 tickets for violations of the law in the past two years. Violating the law carries a $500 fine, and if an emergency responder is killed or seriously injured, the driver can face felony charges.