Remembering Paramedic Matthew Smelser, One Year After He Was Killed While Responding To Roadside Accident
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It was one year ago today that a local paramedic was killed while responding to a crash.
Matthew Smelser died after being hit by a tractor-trailer on a bridge along Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon after getting out of his ambulance to tend to an accident victim.
The bridge where the crash happened was recently renamed in his honor.
Following his death, state lawmakers passed the 'Move Over' law, which aims to protect anyone stopped on the side of the road after a crash.
The law went into effect last week and requires drivers to move over and slow down around any and all first responders.
