If you live anywhere near a road, you’re bound to hear emergency vehicles drive by with sirens blaring. Of course, there’s a reason for that. Police, fire, and EMS vehicles sometimes drive at “Code 3” to reach an emergency scene as fast as reasonable driving will allow them. Unfortunately, first responders sometimes crash into members of the public on the way to save a life. In this case, a lawyer with 6.9 million followers on TikTok weighs in on a police officer who crashed into a turning vehicle while responding in Code 3. 

It started with a police officer speeding during a Code 3 emergency response

A TikTok video with thousands of likes shows a police SUV charging down a divided, two-lane street. The vehicle is responding to an emergency at Code 3. It is driving with its lights and sirens, weaving around cars and hugging the double-yellow line as it does.

The officer is calling out his location on the radio as he responds. But before he could reach the emergency scene, a small SUV turned into his path. 

The officer crashed right into a Jeep Liberty as it turned

One moment, the officer is on the radio giving his location. Next, he’s shouting “no!” as he drives directly into a blue Jeep Liberty as it turns into a parking lot with its turn signal blinking.

The police dash cam video ends with the SUV on its side. The windshield is smashed to bits, but the text asserts that everyone survived the high-speed crash.  

Lawyer and TikTok user Ugo Lord weighed in

“Whenever emergency personnel are responding to an emergency with their lights and their sirens, they must operate their vehicle with due regard to the safety of those around them,” lawyer Ugo Lord said of the scenario.

“At the same time, drivers must be vigilant that whenever there is an emergency vehicle, they yield to the right to allow that individual to get to the emergency,” he added. “There’s no doubt that there was an emergency that these officers were trying to get to quickly.”

“A little too quickly if you ask me,” the lawyer added wryly. “This officer is flying down a two-lane road at excessive speeds. And even though the officer had their siren engaged, when you’re traveling too fast, it becomes very difficult for others to hear that siren.”

Emergency services must exercise ‘due regard’ when responding, even in Code 3

Lawyer Ugo Lord concluded that the officer failed in his duty to exercise “due regard” to the safety of others. In that vein, he found the speed and driving behavior excessive, and the officer liable for the crash. 

It’s true. During my time with a Kentucky fire department, I responded to many emergencies by driving in Code 3 conditions. That means lights, sirens, and yes, exceeding the speed limit when and where it’s safe.

But as this lawyer concluded, first responders are required to keep public safety in mind. Striking a vehicle and harming a member of the public makes an already dangerous or life-threatening situation worse.

Moreover, stopping a Code 3 response by crashing puts first responders in harm’s way and compromises the response to the original emergency. No first responders, no response.

First responders can even face criminal charges for harming or killing members of the public during an emergency response. Like the case of Matthew Swan, an ambulance driver who accidentally killed an elderly driver while attempting to clear an intersection with lights and sirens, per EMS World.  

MotorBiscuit reached out to @ugolord for comment via TikTok direct message. We’ll update this article with any developments.