Fort Worth Firefighter Struck While Working Crash Shares Message For Drivers
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — A Fort Worth firefighter spent her 20th anniversary with the department in the hospital after a car hit her while responding to a crash.
Now on the long road to recovery, Shonna Moorman has a message she wants to share with drivers.
As a busy mom of two, getting adjusted to a wheelchair and relying on others for simple tasks has been hard for Moorman.
"Not even being able to cook or clean in my own home, and then the pain from the injury alone... at times can be very unbearable, but I mean I'm here and that's a blessing there," she said.
Around 6 a.m. New Year's Eve, Moorman was working a two-vehicle crash on Highway 114, just south of Texas Motor Speedway, when she heard a driver slam on their brakes.
"As soon as I heard the brakes lock up, I just knew to run because I knew there were two vehicles behind me, and it wasn't until I started to come around the engine that I saw it over my shoulder," she recalled.
Moorman was stuck by the car and suffered major traumatic injuries to her lower leg.
"It's going to be a very long road to recovery," she said. "The end plan is full recovery. Get back on the engine and do my job again. That's all I want to do."
Fort Worth Fire Department's Mike Drivdahl said the firefighter "did almost everything possible to prevent this from happening."
At the scene, there was even an additional fire truck in place to block traffic from first responders.
"I had multiple firemen who came and saw me at the hospital and said — all of them are saying — 'It's not fire that scares me as much anymore, it's highways.' That's how bad it's getting," Moorman said.
Moorman now feels obligated to tell others to slow down and move over.
"Slow down, the law is less than 20 miles what the speed limit is, and move over. We're there to help you and we can't do that if we're a victim," she said.
On top of sharing this message, the department is now looking over their procedures to see if any additional safety measures need to be taken.
