Crockett County deputies use hummers to pull drivers out of ice and snow
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CROCKETT COUNTY, Tenn. — No matter the road conditions, first responders in West Tennessee do not get a day off. Some of them do get a little heavy duty help in getting to calls on the icy roads. Crockett County deputies have traded their sirens for the loud “hum” of a Hummer until the ice melts. Driver Carla Crutchfield said the icy roads scare her. “The odds are pretty good for me. I would freak out if I hit a patch.” “A big tree limb, hunk of ice fell right in front of me, but thank the Lord up above it didn’t fall on my brand new truck,” she said. Sgt. Robert Howell with the Crockett County Sheriff’s Office said their two Hummers let them respond to any call in any type of weather. “To pull out other vehicles and just get the officers around when the terrain’s difficult like the ice and snow on the roads,” Howell said. Tuesday, the department deployed them to help drivers stuck in ditches. “They called and said they was off in a ditch, so the officer carried a chain with him and pulled out the vehicles,” Howell said. He said the tires on the Hummers are bigger and wider than a normal tire and that it makes all the difference. “They give us more ground clearance and with the rough tread on it, and they’re better with the snow and ice,” he said. Howell said he hopes the Hummers offer peace of mind to the citizens of the county, knowing no matter how bad the weather, someone will be there if help is needed. “If I was off in a ditch or something and they come to me, I’d be tickled to death,” Crutchfield said. The sheriff’s office received the Hummers last August after applying for the vehicles through the military. The department said its only cost was having the paperwork processed. They use grant money to maintain them.
