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Slow Down Move Over: 35 Line-of-Duty Struck-By Deaths in 2025 Is 35 Too Many
As 2025 comes to a close, the Slow Down Move Over movement is once again forced to deliver a message no family, no agency, and no community should ever have to hear.
This year, 35 first responders and roadway workers were killed in line-of-duty struck-by incidents across the United States. While this number reflects a decrease from last year, it remains completely unacceptable. One death is too many—35 is a systemic failure.
These tragedies raise critical questions that continue to go unanswered:
• Where is consistent enforcement of Move Over laws?
• Why are citations being dismissed after officers do their jobs?
• Where is the accountability for drivers who violate these laws?
• What will it take for motorists to finally slow down and move over?
The reality is harsh: meaningful answers and action often only come after tragedy strikes close to home for those in positions of authority.
Thirty-five families will begin 2026 without a loved one—without a parent, spouse, sibling, or child—because of preventable, reckless behavior behind the wheel.
Slow Down Move Over firmly believes real change requires real consequences:
• Increased and visible enforcement of Move Over laws
• Higher fines with no reductions
• Insurance penalties for violators
• Suspension of driving privileges
• Mandatory jail time when a roadway worker or first responder is injured or killed
There is no substitute for accountability.
Roadside professionals—including law enforcement, fire, EMS, EMA, DOT crews, tow operators, and recovery specialists—train constantly to operate as safely as possible in dangerous environments. However, no level of training can overcome the threat posed by distracted, impaired, or careless drivers.
Slow Down Move Over extends sincere gratitude to everyone who supported the mission throughout 2025 by sharing messages, engaging in conversations, and helping amplify the truth. Your support saves lives.
To the families impacted by these tragedies—many of whom we now personally know—we stand with you. Our organization remains committed to supporting you and fighting for justice, accountability, and lasting change.
Enough warnings. Enough excuses.
Slow Down. Move Over. Lives depend on it.
#SlowDownMoveOver
#MoveOverLaw
#35TooMany
#StruckByAwareness
#RoadsideSafety
#FirstResponderSafety
#TowLivesMatter
#ProtectThoseWhoProtect
#AccountabilityNow
#EndDistractedDriving
#RoadsideHeroes
#LineOfDutyDeaths
Slow Down Move Over: 35 Line-of-Duty Struck-By Deaths in 2025 Is 35 Too Many
As 2025 comes to a close, the Slow Down Move Over movement is once again forced to deliver a message no family, no agency, and no community should ever have to hear.
This year, 35 first responders and roadway workers were killed in line-of-duty struck-by incidents across the United States. While this number reflects a decrease from last year, it remains completely unacceptable. One death is too many—35 is a systemic failure.
These tragedies raise critical questions that continue to go unanswered:
• Where is consistent enforcement of Move Over laws?
• Why are citations being dismissed after officers do their jobs?
• Where is the accountability for drivers who violate these laws?
• What will it take for motorists to finally slow down and move over?
The reality is harsh: meaningful answers and action often only come after tragedy strikes close to home for those in positions of authority.
Thirty-five families will begin 2026 without a loved one—without a parent, spouse, sibling, or child—because of preventable, reckless behavior behind the wheel.
Slow Down Move Over firmly believes real change requires real consequences:
• Increased and visible enforcement of Move Over laws
• Higher fines with no reductions
• Insurance penalties for violators
• Suspension of driving privileges
• Mandatory jail time when a roadway worker or first responder is injured or killed
There is no substitute for accountability.
Roadside professionals—including law enforcement, fire, EMS, EMA, DOT crews, tow operators, and recovery specialists—train constantly to operate as safely as possible in dangerous environments. However, no level of training can overcome the threat posed by distracted, impaired, or careless drivers.
Slow Down Move Over extends sincere gratitude to everyone who supported the mission throughout 2025 by sharing messages, engaging in conversations, and helping amplify the truth. Your support saves lives.
To the families impacted by these tragedies—many of whom we now personally know—we stand with you. Our organization remains committed to supporting you and fighting for justice, accountability, and lasting change.
Enough warnings. Enough excuses.
Slow Down. Move Over. Lives depend on it.
#SlowDownMoveOver
#MoveOverLaw
#35TooMany
#StruckByAwareness
#RoadsideSafety
#FirstResponderSafety
#TowLivesMatter
#ProtectThoseWhoProtect
#AccountabilityNow
#EndDistractedDriving
#RoadsideHeroes
#LineOfDutyDeaths
MEDIA RELEASE Slow Down Move Over Inc. (SDMO) For Immediate Release SDMO Mourns the Line-of-Duty Death of Paramedic Mary Jolly and Calls for Immediate Action on Roadside Safety Slow Down Move Over Inc. announces with deep sorrow the death of Paramedic Mary Jolly, who has been identified as United States Emergency Responder Struck-By Death #31 of 2025. Jolly was struck and fatally injured while stopping to render aid at a crash scene on Interstate 95 in Brevard County, Florida. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Jolly was assisting a driver who had already been hit when another vehicle entered the scene and struck her. She passed away at a Florida hospital surrounded by her family and leadership from Gaston County EMS. Gaston County officials described Jolly as a highly respected, decorated paramedic whose commitment to service was evident every day she put on the uniform. She served with GEMS since 2021, contributed to the county’s swift water rescue team, and earned recognition as a B-Shift Outstanding Paramedic in 2023. SDMO Founder Paul Libri issued the following statements: “Even in death Mary continues to give back to the public because that was the type of person she was. Her mother had this to say: I’m so sad to post this but Mary, my youngest daughter passed away today peacefully with her family by her side. It’s impossible to respond to everyone who has been reaching out to her over the last several days so please accept this message as our heartfelt thanks to you for making her life happy, meaningful and valuable to us. Her smile has left us but her impact is just beginning. We are pursuing organ donation to the greatest degree possible given the circumstance’s, making her our superhero. Mary is now watching over us all in heaven with her love deep in our hearts forever.” Libris statement continued to say: “This is a catastrophic loss to the EMS community and another brutal reminder of what happens when drivers fail to slow down and move over. Mary Jolly did everything right. She stopped to help. She put someone else’s life before her own. And because a driver didn’t take three seconds to make a safe decision, she’s gone. SDMO stands with her family, her colleagues, and everyone grieving this tragedy.” Libri further continued: “We push this message every single day because this is exactly what we’re trying to prevent. These responders aren’t asking for much. They want to go home to their families after doing their jobs. Mary deserved that. Every responder deserves that.” SDMO extends its deepest condolences to the Jolly family, to Gaston County EMS, and to every member of the public safety community affected by this loss. Slow Down. Move Over. Lives depend on it. #slowdownmoveoverinc #accident #struckbydeath #restinpeace #ems #paramedic #ambulance #goodsamaritan #distracteddriving
MEDIA STATEMENT
From: Slow Down Move Over Inc.
President: Paul Libri
Date: October 27, 2025
⸻
TWO FAMILIES, TWO YOUNG LIVES — GONE TOO SOON
No parent should ever have to bury their child. Yet here we are again, grieving the loss of two remarkable young men — Ethan Schultz and Jacob Allen Marquis — both taken far too soon, within just one week of each other.
Ethan, only days away from his 21st birthday, was struck and killed on Route 80 while performing his job helping a disabled vehicle. Jacob, also just 21, was tragically killed only days earlier. Two different locations, one heartbreaking connection — the same employer: TA Truck Stops.
How horrible is that for a family to endure? Two families destroyed. Two mothers and fathers robbed of watching their sons grow, laugh, and live the lives they were destined for. Both young men were doing their jobs — working hard, providing service to others — when carelessness and lack of accountability ended everything.
Ethan’s parents shared their pain and their pride:
“My son, Ethan Schultz, was tragically killed while performing his job helping a disabled vehicle on Route 80. Four days before his 21st birthday. The driver who hit him kept going — and said he thought he hit a branch. Coward. Disgusting.”
Ethan’s father echoed the heartbreak:
“A man took Ethan’s life with no remorse, left him lifeless on the side of Interstate 80, and drove off to run like a coward. None of that brings Ethan home. Heartbreaking. Gone way too soon. Ethan didn’t deserve this.”
And from Jacob’s mother, Cheryl Bratton, still reeling from her son’s loss:
“I’m trying to come to terms with this new reality. I’m not doing well with it; I’m struggling. I know I have to get back to the world, but not this week. I’m still stuck on that night 11 days ago when Jacob was killed; a piece of me died with him. I’m not okay, but I’m trying.”
This is NOT OKAY.
Both young men worked under the same company’s banner, yet two families now share the same unbearable grief. The same employer. The same outcome. The same unanswered questions about training, accountability, and safety.
When will enough be enough?
Drivers — pay attention when you are behind the wheel. When you fail to move over or slow down, when you text, scroll, or drive under the influence — you are not just breaking a law; you are breaking lives apart. These aren’t statistics; these are sons, brothers, friends, and coworkers — real people with families who will never be the same.
Every time a motorist fails to move over, another life hangs in the balance. Ethan and Jacob’s deaths are preventable tragedies — and we will continue to speak their names until change happens.
No more excuses.
No more negligence.
No more families left to pick up the pieces.
⸻
Paul Libri
President, Slow Down Move Over Inc.
#notokay
#slowdownmoveoverinc
#MoveOverLaw
#accountability
#tatruckstop
#roadservice
#FirstResponders
#gonetoosoon
Tow Operator Toby Bowden lost his life working on Interstate 85 in Coweta County, Georgia. He was cleaning up a crash with emergency crews when investigators say a driver going too fast for conditions swerved to avoid fire trucks and rolled over hitting Bowden.
A deputy was also injured but is expected to survive.
Authorities arrested that driver, 31-year-old Christopher Thornton. He faces multiple charges including vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and a move-over law violation.
"It hits us all very hard in this industry because we face it so much," said Angela Roper, Executive Vice President of the Towing and Recovery Association of Georgia.
"It's not just that they have to worry about doing their job and doing it correctly, but they have to now worry about is the car coming down the roadway going to move over for me while I do my job," Roper said.
The deadly crash happened just feet from an overhead sign that reads ‘State Law: Move over or slow down for stopped emergency vehicles.’
Now Tobys' soon to be wife speaks out about how this has affected her life and the hour before this tragedy.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rollback Operator Nearly Struck in Cleveland, Ohio — Another Preventable “Move Over” Failure Cleveland, OH — Arslan Khan is lucky to be alive tonight after his rollback tow truck was struck while he was actively performing a winch-out on a roadway in Cleveland, Ohio. While Khan was working roadside — clearly in a vulnerable position — an oncoming vehicle failed to slow down or move over, slamming into the bed of his rollback. This incident could have easily ended in a fatality. This crash was 100% preventable. Every day, tow operators, first responders, and roadway workers put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Every day, drivers ignore Move Over laws. And every day, the consequences get closer to becoming another line-of-duty death. Tonight, Arslan Khan goes home alive. Too many others haven’t. Slow Down Move Over Inc. is once again calling for: • Stronger enforcement of Move Over laws • Real accountability for drivers who ignore them • Public education that actually reaches motorists before tragedy strikes Move Over laws are not suggestions. They are not courtesy. They are the difference between life and death. To Arslan Khan — we are grateful you’re still here. To every driver — slow down, move over, or someone dies. About Slow Down Move Over Inc. Slow Down Move Over Inc. is a national roadway safety advocacy organization dedicated to protecting tow operators, first responders, and all roadway workers through awareness, education, and accountability. #SlowDownMoveOver #MoveOverLaw #TowLivesMatter #RoadsideSafety #TowOperatorStrong #FirstResponderSafety #ClevelandOhio #OhioMoveOver #StruckBy #LineOfDutyDanger #RoadsideWorkers #ProtectThoseWhoProtectUs #AccountabilityMatters #PreventableCrash #TowTruckLife
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