Mike Jensen of Mike’s Autobody in Thurmont hosted the Spirit Ride at the Guardian Hose Company’s carnival grounds on Saturday, September 6, 2017. The Spirit Ride ceremony paid tribute to first responder men and women who have lost their lives while assisting motorists along the highway. Whether they be police, emergency, fire, tow responders, highway and DOT workers, or good samaritans, the Spirit Ride’s mission is to raise public awareness about the risk that first responders face and increase motorists’ compliance with the Slow Down/Move Over Law that exists in every state that requires motorists to slow down and move over when they pass motorists along the highway.
Representatives from several tow, fire, and police companies were in attendance at the event. Special guests gave comment. The main feature of this program was a casket representing the first responders who are killed on our roads each year. There are 100 deaths per year, sixty percent of those deaths are tow operators. After the ceremony, the tow trucks, fire equipment, and police officers headed to Urbana in a convoy to draw attention to this deadly issue. See more photos from the 2017 Spirit Ride here: www.thurmontimages.com/jak/2017spirit.
