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Here to help
Otis Davis, a SHEP incident responder who has been on the job for more than a decade, patrols highways around Florence.
Photo by Tim Hanson
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Tools and talent
SHEP incident responder Matthew Anderson uses the tools from his specially equipped trucks to assist a stranded motorist near Myrtle Beach.
Photo by Tim Hanson
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SHEP HQ
As traffic management operator, David Jones acts as SHEP’s “eyes and ears” by monitoring video from 24 cameras covering area highways.
Photo by Tim Hanson
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All in a day’s work
Sabian Suggs says proper training helps keep him and his fellow responders safe while working state roadways. “The best part of this job is being able to help people,” he says. “I get to meet all kinds of people and it gives me a good feeling to help them out when they are in a time of need.”
Before a tire blew out on her silver Honda Accord and forced her to wrestle the sedan over to the shoulder of Highway 501 just outside of Myrtle Beach, Emily Tropia had most likely never heard of South Carolina’s State Highway Emergency Program, better known as SHEP.
That changed, of course, after SHEP responder Matthew Anderson pulled up in his blue Ford F-250 emergency truck and set to work changing the tire. From the time that he loosened the first lug nut until the 18-year-old Conway woman drove away, a total of 14 minutes had elapsed.
SHEP is part of the South Carolina Department of Transportation, and its 63 incident responders patrol designated roads in areas around Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Anderson, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Rock Hill, Florence and Myrtle Beach. Last year, SHEP handled more than 35,000 incidents, providing free roadside assistance to stranded motorists.
“Our incident responders travel by themselves and are self-sufficient,” says traffic engineer Terrence Brooks, who manages the District 5 SHEP responders in Florence and Myrtle Beach. “They are like a unit of MacGyvers.”
Tools and talent
Like the resourceful television hero, SHEP responders need to be ready to handle any situation.
Each truck is equipped with a winch, an air compressor, a heavy-duty inflatable air bag used in lieu of a traditional car jack, emergency warning lights, 40 orange traffic cones, several gallons of both regular and diesel gasoline, personal safety equipment and an array of tools that would make any home mechanic green with envy.
In addition, a digital arrow board almost as wide as the truck can be raised and lowered with the flick of a switch to alert approaching vehicles. Inside the cab, responders listen to highway patrol message traffic as well as their own SHEP dispatcher at district headquarters, who monitors video feed from 24 cameras covering the district’s highways.
Other than helping drivers of disabled vehicles, responders also are responsible for removing debris from the roadway which, if left unattended, could lead to accidents.
“I’ve seen all kinds of animals out here on the roadway,” says responder Otis Davis as we roll down Interstate 95 just north of Florence. “Everything from dogs to deer to coyotes. One time, I had to shut down a lane of traffic to get several pigs off the road so they would not cross over into another lane of traffic.”
Another responder, Sabian Suggs, who has been with SHEP for the past 16 years and works the Myrtle Beach area, has seen his share of wildlife, too—alligators, turtles, snakes and irrational drivers.
“I once saw a motorist here on Highway 31 trying to shoo a bear out of the road,” says Suggs. “And snakes are another thing. I have never had a close encounter with one, but a guy on another shift ran over a big timber rattler. He took a picture of it. Its length and diameter were just phenomenal.”
Responders have removed ladders that have blown off trucks, lengths of PVC pipe and plastic buckets, hammers and all kinds of other tools, bicycles, wallets and pocketbooks, huge strips of rubber torn from the massive wheels of big trucks—even an urn filled with human remains. With the help of an identification number stamped on the bottom of the receptacle, it was safely returned to a funeral home.
And there is this story—shared by a co-worker with Suggs, shortly after he joined SHEP – about two hefty bags of quarters that fell mysteriously from an armored truck and split open, spilling thousands of coins across the surface of the highway. The co-worker told Suggs that when he came upon the scene, men from the truck were push brooms to sweep up the errant loot and, more than likely, hoping their supervisors would somehow remain unaware of the clearly embarrassing episode.
“From day to day, you just never know what you are going to see or do,” Suggs says. “There is never a dull moment.”
Roadside assistance
Sometimes, although not very often, a SHEP responder will get, well, sort of scammed. Stephon Graves, a responder who also works the Myrtle Beach roadways, once stopped to help a stranded motorist standing next to a moped.
Graves fueled the moped—even used jumper cables to give a jump start.
“It started up and I said, ‘OK, we’re good to go,’” Graves recalls. “And when I reached down to pick up the gas can he just took off on me.”
Moments later, the SHEP dispatcher informed Graves that the man had apparently stolen the moped from a Myrtle Beach rental shop. “So, I helped a burglar get away—and I didn’t even know it,” Graves says with a laugh.
Ask responders about the most challenging part of their job, and the ever-present, unrelenting traffic tops their list of concerns. When trucks and cars—many of them perilously tailgating one another—travel at highway speeds, it can be tough to change a tire, remove debris or work a multi-vehicle accident.
“Traffic is rough,” Graves says. “You need to watch yourself all the time.”
Case in point from incident responder Anderson.
“I worked an accident a few months back. A tow truck driver was there and we were trying to get the cars loaded up onto the rollback,” he recalls. “He screamed and I turned around to look. He had jumped out of the way of a car. He told me he had been tightening down straps on the disabled car when he heard an oncoming vehicle hit that rumble strip on the edge of the road. The car was just about to hit him. He said that when he looked at the driver she was looking down, probably on her phone. She swerved at the last second.”
Drive safe
Of the many traffic accidents SHEP responders handle each year, some involve driver or passenger fatalities. Other accidents might have been fatal were it not for the randomness of events. Davis recalls an incident where a tour bus carrying 14 members of a rock band and their crew blew a tire south of Florence. The driver lost control and the bus veered off the freeway and into the trees.
“That bus must have gone a good 300 yards through the trees without hitting a single one,” Davis says. “It finally came to a stop when it got wedged between two trees. Only one person was injured. He had his feet on the dash when the bus came to a stop and he broke his ankle. That was one of the more miraculous accidents I’ve seen out here.”
Some days, SHEP responders cruise the highways and never respond to a single call. Other days, they remain busy the entire shift. Most responders say they prefer to keep busy helping motorists.
“The best part of this job is being able to help people,” Suggs says. “I get to meet all kinds of people and it gives me a good feeling to help them out when they are in a time of need.”
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Get More
Summoning help
Motorists in the SHEP-patrolled regions can summon roadside assistance by dialing *HP (*47) on their mobile phones. Help also is available through the free SCDOT 511 app for iOS and Android devices. For more information on the SHEP program, visit scdot.org/travel/travel-landing.aspx and click on the “Emergency Response” icon.
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Tell us your story
Have you been helped by a SHEP responder? Tell us about it by writing to letters@scliving.coop.