Friday, Oct. 14 as I was traveling in the westbound lanes of the Mississippi River bridge, I was met with a railroad crosstie that had apparently fallen off a vehicle several cars ahead of me. The first car was able to swerve and miss it, however with traffic on the left side of me, I could not swerve and had to hit the crosstie straight on.

I had never encountered anything like this before (especially on the bridge) and my emotions were running very high. My first thought, after looking to see exactly what had happened, was to call the Vidalia Police Department, since we seemed to be closer to that side of the bridge.

Within a few minutes, the officer from the Vidalia Police Department arrived and went out of his way to help in any way he could. He said that he would change my flat tire for me after he went to check on the car behind me that had also hit the crosstie. The officer returned to my vehicle, but ran into some complications in changing the flat tire.

In looking back on the afternoon’s event, I want to first of all thank God for the safety he provided in protecting all motorists on the bridge that day, and putting his hand upon what could have been a tragic event.

I would also like to commend the Vidalia Police Department and Officer Morace for showing concern and compassion during a very trying time, for going above and beyond the call of duty, and upholding their motto of “to protect and serve.”

Martha Rice

Natchez resident