July 6, 2003 - 10:30pm - Unit #65 (with unit #02 riding along) stopped to check on two cars on the shoulder of southbound I-270 just south of I-44. One of the cars had the hood open and there was a man and a teenager working on the engine when 65 arrived. 02 got out and asked the man if he needed any help. The man told 02 that this was his son's car and he was having trouble with the battery. He told 02 he was a little nervous standing so close to the fast traffic. 02 told him he and 65 would remain behind them with their lights on to slow traffic until they got the car started. Within five minutes they got the car started, waved a thank you to 02 and 65, and drove away.

July 7, 2003 - 10:00pm - Unit #65 stopped to assist two motorists (one in a SUV and one in a Porsche) on northbound I-270 just north of Dougherty Ferry Rd. The shoulder was very narrow, making it a dangerous place to break down, but the motorist had a flare set up behind his car when 65 stopped. 65 asked one of the men if they had a tow truck on the way. They said they did and it would arrive in about ten minutes. 65 remained behind them with his lights on and got traffic out of the right lane until the tow truck arrived about fifteen minutes later. When the tow truck stopped in front of the SUV it was blocking half of the right lane. 65 pulled his car into the right lane with his lights on to shield the tow truck driver while he hooked up the SUV. The men thanked 65 for helping. They then got into the Porsche and drove away. The tow truck driver finished hooking up the SUV a few minutes later and both he and 65 left the scene.

July 9, 2003 - 8:50pm - Unit #220 stopped to assist a motorist on southbound I-270 just south of I-64. The vehicle had a flat tire so 220 let the motorist use his hydraulic jack and assisted in changing the tire. They finished changing the tire a few minutes later and the motorist thanked 220 for helping.

July 9, 2003 - 9:50pm - Unit #65 and #220 pulled over to check on two cars on the shoulder of southbound I-270 at Highway 21. The cars had their hazard lights on and there was a man and teenager standing behind the second car when 65 and 220 stopped. 65 asked the man if they needed any help and he stated the kid had a flat tire and he had just stopped to see if he needed any help. The teenager told 65 he was putting the spare on now and would be finished in a minute or two. 65 told him he would remain behind him with his lights on until he finished. The man saw that the teen had help now so he got into his car and left the scene. A minute after the man left, 220 decided to contunie looking for other motorists and left the scene to 65. The teen put the spare on and then walked back to 65 and asked for some help getting the jack down. It was an old jack and the teen couldn't figure out how to lower it. 65 looked at it and couldn't firgure it out either. Instead of spending a long time trying to figure out how to lower it, 65 brought up his jack and raised the car higher so the teen could pull out his jack. 65 then lowered the car and advised the teen to figure out how to lower his jack at a safer location. The teen thanked 65 for his help.

July 9, 2003 - 10:00pm - Unit #220 assisted a minivan full of teens on southbound I-55 just south of Butler Hill Rd. The teens told 220 their van overheated and their parents were on the way. 220 told them he would wait behind them with his lights on until they arrive. The teens told 220 it would be about a thirty minute wait. While waiting, 65 pulled up behind 220. 65 had just finished helping the motorist in the above report. After waiting thirty minutes, one of the teens walked up to 220 and told him they were going to try to start the van and drive to the next exit. They started the van and drove in the right lane doing about 40mph. 220 and 65 were behind them with their lights on to warn traffic. They drove a mile to the next exit and got off the highway. 220 and 65 exited too and turned off their lights. They drove the van to a nearby gas station. 220 and 65 contined down the road to look for other motorists in need.

July 11, 2003 - 10:30pm - Unit #65 assisted a motorist on northbound I-55 just north of Meramec Bottom Rd. The motorists had a tow truck on the way so 65 waited behind him with his lights on until it arrived.

July 12, 2003 - 8:30pm - Unit #220 and #65 were on northbound I-270 just north of Highway 30 when they saw two men walking southbound. Up ahead on the shoulder was a pick-up truck pulling a trailer. They stopped behind the truck and 220 asked the lady there if she needed any help. She stated they were hauling a couch on the trailer and they lost a cushion. The men were walking back to try to find it. 220 and 65 remembered seeing the cushion two miles back on the shoulder so 65 went to retrieve the cushion while 220 went back to inform the two men. When 65 reached the location of the cushion, he discovered it was gone. 220 then radioed to 65 that he was with the men on the shoulder at Highway 30 and a car just stopped behind them with the cushion The man in the car gave the other two men a ride back to the truck. 220 and 65 followed them back to the truck. The car then drove away. 220 and 65 waited behind the truck with their lights on until the men finished securing the couch and cushions. The drove away a few minutes later.

July 12, 2003 - 9:30pm - Unit #220 assisted a motorist out of gas on southbound I-270 just south of Highway 21. 220 offered to bring some gas back to him but the motorist stated that he had someone on the way with gas. 220 told the motorist he would wait behind him until the gas arrived. After about 25 minutes, a vehicle arrived with gas and he was on his way again.

July 12, 2003 - 9:35pm - While unit #220 was assisting the motorist in the above report, unit #65 was assisting St. Louis County Police on the other side of the highway (northbound I-270 just south of Highway 21) with a suicidal person in a car on the shoulder. Police and fire arrived on the scene right before 65 and blocked the right lane. The problem was they were just over the top of a hill and motorists couldn't see the emergency vehicles blocking the lane until they reached the top of the hill, which only gave them a couple hundred feet to merge left. 65 stopped on the shoulder at the top of the hill and turned on his arrow stick to the left so cars would merge left. 65 stayed on the shoulder until the fire trucks left the scene and opened the right lane (about ten minutes later). The suicidal person was taken to the hospital.

July 12, 2003 - 9:50pm - Unit #65 stopped to assist a motorist with a flat tire on the off ramp from northbound I-270 onto Highway 21. The motorist had a flat tire on the left side and didn't want to change it because he would have to kneel down in the right lane, which was a little dangerous. While 65 was talking to the motorist, 220 arrived on the scene to help. 65 offered to change the tire and the motorist agreed. 65 pulled his car into the right lane to block it and turned on his arrow stick to the left setting to get traffic to merge left. 65 brought up his hydraulic jack and 220 brought up his 4-way tire iron and they changed the tire in about ten minutes. The motorist thanked them for helping and drove away.

July 12, 2003 - 10:15pm - Unit #65 and #220 stopped to check on a car on southbound I-270 just north of Highway 21. The young female driver told 65 her car broke down and her mother was on the way to pick her up. 65 told her he would stay behind her until she arrived. Within five minutes, her mother (and brother) arrived. Her mother told 65 they were going to leave the car there and call for a tow truck from home. She thanked 65 for stopping. They took their personal belongings out of the car and drove away in the mother's car.

July 13, 2003 - 1:30am - Unit #65 was visiting unit #02 on the job at the West County Mall when they saw a vehicle in the parking lot with a man standing behind it. The man was bent over and appeared to be sick. 02 and 65 drove up to the man and asked him if he was alright. He said he was fine (twice) and staggered back into his car. 02 and 65 knew he was drunk and called Des Peres Police. They gave the plate and a description of the car (a white Lexas) to the dispatcher and followed him as he drove across the parking lot. 02 stopped following him as he left the property and turned onto Manchester Rd. 02 and 65 heard over the scanner that police found him a minute later at Manchester Rd. and I-270. He had crashed into a curb when police caught up with him. They arrested him for drunk driving. 02 later learned from Des Peres Police that he had priors for drunk driving and would be spending a lot of time in jail because the judge denied him bail based on all the prior DWI's.

July 14, 2003 - 8:10pm - Unit #220 and #65 stopped to check on a motorist on the ramp from westbound I-44 onto Lewis Rd. The motorist told 220 his belt broke and the engine overheated. He was going to wait thirty minutes and then try to drive it home (another three miles west on I-44). 220 told him he and 65 were going to come back in about twenty mintes and follow him down I-44 incase it overheats again. 220 and 65 then left and came back fifteen minutes later and found the SUV was gone. They drove west on I-44 looking for the SUV incase he overheated again but they didn't find it.

July 14, 2003 - 9:00pm - Unit #220 and #65 assisted a motorist on southbound I-270 just south of Manchester Rd. The motorist said his engine overheated and a friend was on the way to pick him up. He also stated he was going to leave the car there overnight and have it towed in the morning. 220 waited behind him until his friend arrived and called Des Peres Police to notify them that the car was going to be there overnight.

July 17, 2003 - 12:00pm - Unit #02 was in class at SIUE in Edwardsville IL, when the fire pager of a fellow classmate sitting next to him, who was a volunteer firefighter, went off. The call put him on standby for a fire at the St. Louis Arch. 02 left class immediately and drove to downtown St. Louis. When he arrived he saw smoke rising from the ground several hundred feet from the north leg of the Arch. By this time fire departments were on the scene and the local news stations were covering the fire live on tv. The source of the fire was an electric transformer that powered the air conditioning system in the Arch. The Arch was evacuated and there were no injuries. 02 drove onto Memorial Dr. in front of the Arch and saw fire trucks all along the road. The police were not on Memorial Dr. so 02 blocked the road and diverted all traffic onto Market St. away from the fire trucks and hoses running across the street. Within a few minutes, a fire chief pulled up next to 02 and with the two vehicles, they had Memorial Dr. totally blocked off. The cable stations MSNBC and Fox News picked up the live news coverage and were showing aerial shots from the local news helicopters. 02 could be seen on the ground set up at Memorial Dr. and Market St. with his car and cones across the intersection diverting traffic in a few of the live shots. The reporters reported that police had Memorial Dr. shut down but it was really unit 02. All the police cars were busy with traffic jams in other areas of downtown because of the fire. 02 remained at the scene for over an hour until the fire was put out and most of the fire trucks left the scene.

July 17, 2003 - 9:30pm - Unit #65 and #02 assisted a motorist on eastbound I-44 one mile west of Highway 141. The motorist told 65 she had a tow truck on the way. 65 told her he would wait behind her until it arrived. The tow truck arrived two minutes later and 65 remained on the scene until the driver loaded the SUV onto the truck. The motorist thanked 65 for stopping. Another car pulled up behind 65 a minute later. The motorist got into the car and they drove away.

July 17, 2003 - 10:00pm - Unit #220 stopped to assist a motorist on eastbound I-64 just east of Ballas Rd. The young driver had a flat tire and didn't know how to use the jack. 220 brought up his hydraulic jack and 4 way tire iron and started to change the tire. 220 jacked up the car and took the flat tire off but then realized that he put the jack in the wrong place and couldn't raise the car high enough to put the new tire on. 220 radioed to unit #65 to come to the scene with his jack. While waiting for 65, a Town & County Police Officer arrived on the scene to see what was going on. 220 explained the situation to the officer. The officer waited at the scene to assist if needed. 65 arrived about eight minutes later and stopped in front of the motorist. He got out his jack and 220 used it to raise the car higher and finish changing the tire. The officer saw 65's LED traffic stick on his car and remarked that it was the brightest he's seen and wanted to know where 65 got it. 65 told him and after another minute the officer said to the motorist "well you're in good hands with these guys (65 and 220), I'm going to get going". He left the scene as 220 lowered the car to the ground. 65 put his jack in his car and left the scene. The motorist thanked 220 and drove away a few minutes later.

July 21, 2003 - 5:40pm - Unit #11 was heading home from Mt. Vernon, IL on I-64 just past the Woodlawn exit (exit 69) when she noticed thick black smoke coming from the eastbound lanes. A church van was totally engulfed in flames on the right shoulder of the eastbound lanes and eastbound traffic was stopped about 200 yards behind it refusing to pass it. No emergency vehicles were on the scene, so 11 called 911 from her cell phone. The dispatcher noted that someone just called in the fire just two minutes ago. 11 pulled her car into the median and stopped. She had a handheld CB that had limited range, so she told the driver of a Buske truck that was parked next to her to notify all eastbound traffic to create a emergency lane for the fire trucks that would be arriving at the scene shortly. The church van belonged to a Kansas City church group that were on there way to Disney World. There were about 20 passengers on the van, most of them children. The children (between ages 6-15) were obviously upset, mostly because their dream of going to Disney World was shattered by the fire. The fire destroyed all of their belongings in the van except for what they had in their hands. Fortunately, nobody was injured in this fire. 11 told one of them that there were several hotels in nearby Mt. Vernon and they should have a phone book so they could contact the local Red Cross office to get temporary housing for the night. The Woodlawn Fire Department arrived about ten minutes later to put out the fire. After the first fire truck went to the van, the Buske truck used his big rig to block both eastbound lanes so nobody could interfere with the firefighters. The state police and a second fire truck arrived about eight minutes later. The Buske truck moved to allow both vehicles through. The fire was almost out at this point, so the state police started allowing traffic through in the left shoulder. 11 left the scene since there was nothing more she could do.

July 22, 2003 - 8:30pm - Unit #220 stopped to assist two vehicles on southbound I-270 just north of Manchester Rd. The motorist told 220 he was having trouble with the alternator. 220 brought up his jumper pack to jump start the vehicle but it didn't work. 65 pulled up behind 220 to assist since the shoulder was narrow and 220's vehicle was partially blocking the lane. 65 turned on his arrow stick to the left and got cars out of the lane while 220 assisted the motorist. The motorist told 220 he was going to leave the vehicle there overnight and have it towed in the morning. He got into the car parked in front of his vehicle and left.

July 22, 2003 - 11:15pm - In St. Charles County there was a serious accident that blocked all traffic on I-70 westbound near 370 for several hours (according to KTVI Channel 2). Unit 220 was up in that area about the time that the highway was going to be re-opened so he monitored CB Channel 19 to listen to the truck traffic. Unit 220 heard a report of a stalled motorist on I-70 near the 370 exit so he went to investigate. The Missouri State Highway Patrol got the same call and was enroute to the area as well. The vehicle was in the fast lane and 220 saw that the highway patrol was going to get to the scene first so he backed off a bit. 220 had his lights on when he stopped behind the police car. The officer saw 220 and walked towards his vehicle. He then asked if 220 had any jumper cables and 220 acknowledged the officer. The State Trooper was curtious and asked if 220 would jump the vehicle (which he gladly did). Once the car was jump-started, both 220 and the State Trooper left the scene.

July 23, 2003 - 11:35pm - Unit #220 assisted the Kirkwood Police Department with the removal of a tractor trailer from the shoulder of I-270 at Big Bend Blvd. The tractor trailer rig had caught fire earlier in the day and a tow truck company was sent to remove it. However, the oncoming traffic was too fast to safely remove the truck from the shoulder. Kirkwood Police sent two units to cover it but traffic was still too fast for appropriate action. 220 assisted and waved-off traffic to the outer lanes of the highway. Kirkwood Police thanked 220 for his assistance.

July 27, 2003 - 12:35am - Unit #220 assisted a motorist on I-270 southbound at J. Kelley Memorial Drive. 220 waited until a tow truck arrived and then went on his way.