Transportation Management Center Worker Assists Downed Motorcyclist

Awarded Employee of the Year 2008

Smyrna -- The Department of Transportation (DelDOT) is honored to name a technician at the Transportation Management Center (TMC) as an Employee of the Year for 2008. Her efforts went beyond the call of her job duties when she assisted an injured motorcyclist.

At 11:30 p.m. May 23, 2008, Pam Stant was driving home to New Castle after a late shift at the 24/7 DelDOT facility, the TMC. According to Stant, an approaching light shook in an unusual manner ahead of her as she was driving on Route 13. As the light continued to approach her, she realized that a motorcycle was flipping end-over-end and the driver was going through the air.

At the next crossover, Stant turned her personal vehicle around and headed south to assist. Arriving at the spot where the motorcycle lay in the roadway, Stant activated the flashers on her vehicle and donned a reflective safety vest.

By this time, the driver of the motorcycle was sitting up in the grass median. Stant went to his aid, while calling the incident in to the TMC to summon further assistance. A passing motorcyclist stopped and helped Stant get the downed bike upright and out of the roadway, however, he left almost as quickly as he had arrived.

Emergency assistance, including DelDOT and an ambulance crew, was on the scene quickly. Police officers got their report on the incident from Stant, who was the only witness. A helicopter landed on the highway as the wife of the injured cyclist arrived. Stant apprised the woman of what she had witnessed, then assisted the cyclist's wife in gathering his possessions that had been scattered when the motorcycle went through the air. The wife later telephoned Stant to report on her husband's condition.

Though she was on her own time and on the way home when the incident took place, Stant spent more than an hour on the scene. But she said she doesn't see her response and activities as anything unusual.

"I didn't do anything I expect someone else wouldn't do," she said.

Neither did Stant think about the personal risk to which she had exposed herself. A late night on a dark stretch of roadway has the potential for further injury. By taking her actions, Stant very well might have prevented further injury to the motorcyclist or potential injuries to unsuspecting motorists who would have encountered the aftermath of the incident.

Stant said she appreciates the recognition but, "It's just a little uncomfortable." She said she has stopped to help at incidents on the road previously, and will likely do so again if the need arises.