A fellow paramedic and friend of Matt Smelser, the Rostraver-West Newton EMS paramedic who was struck and killed earlier this month, has started a petition calling for increased protections for first responders.
Paramedic Michael Bedner tells WPXI that he is on a personal mission after the senseless Jan. 5 incident that claimed his friend and colleague's life. The 43-year-old Smelser was responding to a vehicle crash on Interstate 70 when he was struck by a passing truck.
“That could’ve easily been me. I have a family to go home to, waiting for me, just like my coworkers,” Bedner told WPXI. “The only way to bring about change is to unite and get our voices heard. That was the real purpose of this.”
Bedner has launched an online petition at change.org calling for sweeping changes that include advanced warning of emergencies, decreased speed limits based on road conditions, and stiffer penalties for those who speed or fail to yield while passing through work zones and emergency scenes, among other items.
As of Feb. 1, over 10,000 people have signed the petition, with several who knew Smelser leaving messages expressing their sorrow and anger over his tragic passing.
"Despite all we have done to improve safety in these situations, it is not enough and we can do better. We MUST do better," Bedner wrote on the petition page.
