Georgia DOT names bridge after Highway Emergency Response Operator Spencer Pass

Left to right: State Senator Nan Orrock, District 36, Pass’ mother Barbara Pass, GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry, and Pass’ father Edward Pass.Left to right: State Senator Nan Orrock, District 36, Pass’ mother Barbara Pass, GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry, and Pass’ father Edward Pass.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has named the Interstate 85 Bridge over Cleveland Avenue in Atlanta for Highway Emergency Response Operator Spencer Pass, who was struck and killed in January 2011 while he was assisting a stranded motorist.

HEROs, as they are called, assist stranded motorists with problems such as flat tires, battery jump-starts and pushing vehicles to the shoulder, all in an effort to clear roads and protect motorists.

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Pass was the first HERO program fatality and was struck by a utility truck driver towing a flatbed trailer on I-85 near the Metropolitan Parkway exit. Georgia’s Move Over Law, which mandates motorists move over one lane or slow down and be prepared to stop at the approach of emergency or service vehicles, is also known as The Spencer Pass Law.

“I am delighted to honor the life and legacy of a true hero and an outstanding GDOT employee, but I feel heavyhearted because his life did not have to end so soon,” says GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry

The agency reports its Employee Association petitioned the Georgia General Assembly to dedicate the bridge to Pass, and State Senator Nan Orrock sponsored the bill to do so.