Driver's Concern Prevents 'Disaster' With 911 Call and Tailing Updates

Jerome Marks' perseverance paid off for a motorist suffering from extremely low blood sugar, whose erratic driving caught the eye of Marks, this quarter's recipient of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's Citizen's Award.

At the Dec. 14 Awards Recognition Ceremony, Col. James Previtera recounted the details of the Sept. 15 incident, which prompted Marks to call 911 to report a motorist "driving in an erratic manner."

"The vehicle had traveled very slowly and drifted into on-coming traffic, nearly causing multiple collisions," according to Previtera's prepared remarks. "Mr. Marks continued to follow the vehicle and provided the dispatcher with updates until a deputy caught up to the car and stopped it."

The driver reportedly was found unresponsive, suffering "from a dangerous medical condition resulting from extremely low blood sugar," Previtera said.

The driver received medical attention and recovered.

"Throughout the incident Mr. Marks remained on the scene and assisted first responders, then relayed his observations before departing the scene," Previtera added. "The sheriff's office recognizes Mr. Marks for his assitance and for taking action to prevent the situation from ending in disaster."

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office each quarter holds an Awards Recognition Ceremony, at which time citizens, too, are recognized for assisting law enforcement officers in carrying out their duties, for risking their lives to assist others or for contributing "to a worthwhile cause by other means."

Marks received his award for the fourth quarter of 2011.

 

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