County Employee in the Right Place at the Right Time

Emergency Services Coordinator Jessica Williams

When Jessica Williams, an emergency services coordinator with the Office of Emergency Services, was headed home the morning of April 26 after working all night at the incident command post for the Southern Fire, the only thing she wanted to do was get home and get some sleep.

Things quickly changed for Williams, who is a licensed EMT, as she came upon an automobile accident that had just occurred on Old Highway 80 near Pine Valley.

After talking to two men at the first vehicle who seemed uninjured and thought they had been involved in a hit-and-run, she made her way down the road and found the second vehicle involved in the accident driven by a woman.

“I approached the vehicle and identified myself as a trained EMT and as someone who works for the County’s Office of Emergency Services,” said Williams. “I saw that she was a very pregnant woman and was very upset at what had happened.”

Williams said she asked the woman a series of questions to determine if she or the unborn child was injured, and determined she was just distraught over what had happened.

“She just needed to see friendly face,” said Williams, who has been a certified EMT since 1999. “Someone to tell her what the damage to her car was like, and that everything was going to be OK.”

Williams said she stayed on the scene until all parties felt safe and the California Highway Patrol arrived to investigate the accident.

“Sometimes you are just in the right place at the right time,” said Jeff Toney, OES Director. “I wasn’t surprised at all that Jessica stopped to help and knew exactly what to do in this type of situation. She has extensive EMT training which is not part of her job here at OES, but always comes in handy in emergency situations.”