A potential tragedy was averted earlier this month thanks to the quick actions of a North Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance crew in Davie County.

On Dec. 4, shortly before noon, the crew, including District 16 SEANC members David Plagemann and Daniel Devoid, was performing a routine maintenance operation along the shoulder of an exit ramp on I-40 when they saw a car coming down the ramp toward the interstate.

Transportation Supervisor David Plagemann explained that apparently the driver had become confused and turned too soon to get on the interstate. Immediately, he said, his DOT workers, including Devoid, began trying to get the driver’s attention while directing the oncoming cars out of the way.

Eventually, he said, the driver managed to stop the car, but only after the vehicle was already in the middle of the eastbound lane facing west. Fortunately, he said, he and his workers were able to warn the oncoming traffic and help get the vehicle off the interstate.

And a good thing, too, he said, because where the incident occurred was right on the other side of the crest of a hill.

“Everyone coming up that hill wasn’t going to see the car,” he said.

Plagemann said that while he’s seen a similar situation occur before, it’s not something that DOT crews routinely prepare to handle.

“That’s not something we really train to deal with. It’s more spur of the moment,” he said. “But we knew something was wrong and we knew we needed to fix it before something catastrophic happened.”

The six-person crew, Plagemann and Devoid, as well as Jerry Lee Burcham, Cory Robertson, Andy Reavis and Elmer Hendren, have been nominated by NCDOT Division 9 engineer Pat Ivey for The Extra Mile Award, which recognizes NCDOT employees who go above and beyond.

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