If Preston Edrington’s 35 years at PPL has taught him one thing, it’s that nothing is more important than safety and the safety of those we work with each day.
Edrington, a journeyman mechanic, credits his experience at PPL Electric Utilities and the company’s safety culture for helping him to know what to do — and how to do it safely — when he happened upon a vehicle accident in the Newport area of Perry County recently.
Edrington was traveling on Route 322 from a job site to the Harrisburg Service Center Annex building when unexpected severe weather — heavy rain and wind — began, prompting him to slow down. He soon noticed a vehicle in front of him swerving and striking a guard rail, apparently after hydroplaning and before rolling over multiple times.
That’s when Edrington’s instincts kicked in. He found a safe place along the shoulder of the road to pull over and he safely made his way over to the vehicle after calling 911.
Once at the vehicle, he and another motorist that stopped to assist worked together to determine the condition of the driver inside and find a way to get him out of the vehicle, which was on its side.
“We finally were able to get him out and I said, ‘Are you OK?’ He had a cut on his knee, and I had a first-aid kit, so I brought him to my truck so that he could treat it. The whole time I was watching him closely to make sure he was alright because I knew he was in shock.”
As the man treated himself and awaited help from medics, Edrington’s coworker, Glenn Klinger, worked together to set up traffic cones and triangles to help make other motorists aware of the overturned vehicle and keep everyone safe.
Eventually, state police officers arrived to secure the area and investigate, and medics arrived to provide medical assistance.
“The [emergency medical technicians] came and checked him out and some other volunteers came to assist and they complimented us on how we set up the traffic cones and triangles (to control traffic),” Edrington said.
“Our training all these years at PPL really is what prepared us to respond to something like that.”
Preston is one of my favorite people to work with at PPL for many reasons, but his mindset is definitely one of them! This is just an example of how he carries himself everyday.