Note to police: Thanks for the ticket
A woman sent a thank you note to the Georgetown Police Department after she says a seat belt citation saved her husband's life.
Michele Warch of Georgetown said her husband, David, might not have survived a Feb. 21 crash if a Georgetown police officer hadn't pulled him over in January.
"Thank you, Officer Quillen, for writing my husband that seat belt ticket a month ago," Michele said in a private Facebook message to the Georgetown PD Facebook page. "I believe that it saved his life, today. We've been married for 27 years. We're raising 2 of our grandchildren. I need him."
The message was later made public by Georgetown Police Department spokesman Detective Joey Melvin.
The accident happened in the early morning hours Tuesday on Brenford Road near Smyrna, Delaware. David Warch was traveling to work in his Dodge Ram pickup when a Toyota driven by John Metheny III of Dover crossed the center line and hit him head on, according to state police.
Both vehicles were totaled. The impact removed Warch's grill, headlights and a front wheel and buckled the driver's side doors.
Metheny was airlifted to Christiana Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. He was later cited for failing to remain in a single lane, according to Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier.
Warch walked away with some bruising. He was taken to Christiana to be examined and released.
Police officers often get feedback from the public in the course of their duties, but it's usually not very positive, Melvin said.
"On occasion, we get messages from the public," Melvin said. "But this is the kind of message that we don't get too often."
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Michele Warch said David was issued a citation by Georgetown Police Officer Katie Quillen last month because he had his seat belt tucked under one arm instead of buckled across his torso.
With it came a $94 fine.
He didn't want to repeat the fine. So he started wearing his seatbelt correctly, his wife said.
Michele said a Delaware State Trooper at the scene told her that a belt tucked under the arm could fracture ribs, which could puncture internal organs, often fatally.
When Michele met David at Christiana, he told her, "The first thing I need to do is call that officer to say 'thank you.' "
"The core of our mission is to change behavior through education, and this is a prime example of that," Melvin said.
Everybody hears the message about seat belts saving lives, Melvin said, but not everybody gets the message. He said the police's education strategy takes the form of stopping motorists who aren't paying attention to the message.
"Sometimes it may be a warning, sometimes it may be a citation," Melvin said.
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Sometimes that generates negative feedback from someone who feels unfairly singled out. And sometimes, it changes one person's behavior and saves a life.
"That's pretty impactful; that's what we want to have happen," Melvin said. "We don't know what would've happened if he wasn't wearing it, but it's safe to assume his injuries would have been more substantial."
Police education strategies are guided by data from the Delaware Office of Highway Safety and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The numbers have focused these strategies on seat belt use and distracted driving.
Georgetown Police Chief R.L. Hughes said these are the two areas that contribute most to devastating accidents. He said people just don't realize how important a properly worn seat belt can be to their survival in a collision.
He also said the dangers of distracted driving cannot be overemphasized. The characteristics of distracted driving are indistinguishable from impaired driving — sudden increases or decreases in speed, temporarily entering the shoulder or crossing the center line — and just as dangerous, he said.
"We don't get a lot of feedback like this," Hughes said. "You hope that you're changing a driver's behavior."
He said Quillen won't get a commendation or any special recognition for her service. It's just part of the job.
"We are very happy to have her on the team," Hughes said. "But this is what we do. This is why we do what we do."
But the Georgetown Police are grateful for the Warch's feedback.
"It does help us do our jobs to know that we have support from the public," Hughes said.
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