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November 16, 2002Striking nurses put off picket to assist injured motorist- Minor traffic accident was caused by driver distracted by picketersBy MICHELLE BARBERCHECKSpecial to the Record-Eagle PETOSKEY - Picketing nurses at Northern Michigan Hospital may be on strike, but that didn't stop a group of them from dropping their signs and rushing to assist an injured motorist Friday. Lt. Anthony Rice of the Petoskey Department of Public Safety said police and emergency rescue crews were called to the scene of a three-car collision early Friday afternoon at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Madison Street. The accident occurred directly across the street from the hospital, in full view of dozens of nurses and their supporters who have been picketing there for the past two days. Rice said 63-year-old Lula Powell, of Indian River, was traveling north on U.S. 31 but was distracted by the sight of the picketers and rear-ended a vehicle driven by Jonathan Rupp, 22, of Petoskey. Rupp's car was then pushed into the rear end of a vehicle driven by Jonathan Morley, also of Petoskey. Neither Rupp nor Morley was injured but Powell was taken to Northern Michigan Hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and released. Rupp said he was amazed at how swiftly the nurses on the picket line reacted to the chain-reaction crash. "As soon as it happened, two or three dozen nurses just dropped everything and came flying over here. They were just everywhere - they even didn't wait for the smoke to clear," Rupp said, "It was awesome, really. They were great." One nurse at the scene, who declined to give her name, said strike or no strike, the profession is a way of life. "What would you expect us to do in a situation like this? This is what we are. This is what we do. We care for people," she said, "We took an oath." Dave Pierce, owner of the Special Occasions store near the scene of the accident, said he was also amazed at how rapidly the picketing nurses responded. "They all came jigging right over. I have to admit, if I had to have an accident, that's where I would've wanted to be," Pierce chuckled. Rice said so far no other accidents have occurred in the vicinity of the hospital due to distractions created by the picketers. However, he said there have been some complaints about parking problems in the area generated by the number of picketers and also a complaint about drivers honking horns in support of the nurses as they drive past the hospital. The strike began Thursday after the hospital and Teamsters Local 406 reached an impasse in negotiations on the nurses first labor contract. Hospital officials said about 54 percent of the nursing staff reported on the first shift and replacement workers were handling the duties of the striking nurses. |
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