Car With Sleeping Driver Travels 6 Miles On I-684, Golden's Bridge Deputy Fire Chief Helps Avert Disaster

GOLDEN'S BRIDGE, NY — A perilous situation on the highway ended safely thanks to serendipity, and a cool head.

From the Golden's Bridge Fire Department.

This story brings new meaning to the car that drives itself.

Robert Melillo, Deputy Fire Chief of the Golden's Bridge Fire Department, was driving northbound on I-684 in a marked SUV when a vehicle pulled alongside him in the right lane well before the Katonah exit. Its occupant got his attention as she frantically honked the horn and shouted out the window that there may be something wrong with the driver of the automobile ahead of her.

Melillo, a 38-year veteran of the Golden's Bridge Fire Department, noticed that the car, as he described it, "was moving slowly and very unevenly." It was clearly inconsistent with the flow of the highway traffic. He immediately contacted 60 Control, the dispatch center for Westchester County fire emergencies, requesting that State Police be dispatched to the location.

He caught up to the vehicle, a Honda HR-V, at the Saw Mill River Parkway-I-684 split, repeatedly updating his location to 60 Control with identifying mile markers.

As he rode alongside the Honda, he activated the sirens of his fire department vehicle in an attempt to get the driver's attention. When he tried to make eye contact, Melillo noticed the driver's face was pressed so hard against the window that it contorted her features.

"I thought she was sleeping or passed out behind the wheel, or worse," he recalled, noting that the Honda managed to hold its position in the right lane, although somewhat erratic, as if the vehicle was bouncing along the road.

Given the dire circumstances, Melillo changed lanes to position himself behind the Honda to block other motorists from getting close to it.

As the Honda was approaching Exit 6A/Golden's Bridge, the car allegedly swerved off the highway toward the exit ramp, but so far to the right that it bounced along the rumble strip, which is designed to warn motorists they are veering off the road. With Melillo now following the Honda and sounding his own vehicle's horn and sirens, the car came to a stop on the lower half of the exit ramp as though the driver heavily and abruptly pumped the brake pedal.

Melillo exited his vehicle and raced toward the Honda on foot, first to turn off the ignition and then to determine whether medical attention was needed by the driver, who he found slumped in the driver's seat, seemingly asleep.

When he was able to get her attention, the woman opened her eyes and allegedly told Melillo she couldn't stay awake because she was extremely tired and wanted to sleep, according to the Deputy Fire Chief.

"Between the horn from my department vehicle and the noise from the rumble strip, it would appear that she snapped out of it just long enough to realize what was happening, and was able to slam on the brakes and bring the car to a stop before it veered completely off the exit ramp. It is nothing short of a miracle that in the nearly six-mile or so stretch – and who knows how long she was driving before the other motorist and I encountered her – the car was essentially driving itself while she was allegedly asleep," Melillo said.

Golden's Bridge Fire Chief Albert Melillo (Robert's brother) praised the Deputy Chief's "calm, but swift" action. "He was in the right place at the right time. His actions averted a potential disaster on a busy highway and probably saved the driver’s life, and quite possibly the lives of other motorists," the Fire Chief said.

"People sometimes ask why fire chiefs and other officers drive department vehicles in non-emergency situations. The obvious answer is that it enables them to arrive faster at emergency scenes. But there are days like this, when at least one life was saved, possibly multiple lives," said Fire Chief Melillo. "The only reason the other motorist alerted our Deputy Chief to the unfolding situation is because he was driving a marked Golden’s Bridge Fire Department SUV. It was likely just a matter of time before the Honda driver would’ve come to a crashing halt, and who knows how this would’ve ended if he wasn’t driving a marked vehicle."

The cause of the motorist's condition was unclear since Melillo left the scene in the hands of State Police when troopers arrived, and when the driver declined medical treatment after Melillo offered to summon an ambulance.

This press release was produced by the Golden's Bridge Fire Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.