Willow Springs, MO. – Communications Operator Lori Wood with Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop G was one of 35 awarded at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Awards Ceremony on April 29, 2022. This year’s award ceremony took place at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia, MO.
Wood received the Patrol’s Lifesaving Award along with 21 others for actions taken in 2021. This award is presented to an active or retired MSHP employee who is distinguished by saving the life of another person.
The following explains how the quick thinking of Communications Operator III Wood was instrumental in saving the life of a Mountain View woman when her car became submerged in December of 2021.
“On Saturday, December 18, 2021, Communications Operator III Lori L. Wood, Troop G, was working the overnight shift when she received a call from Texas County 911 regarding a vehicle in the water on Missouri Highway 17 and North Pine Street in Summersville, Missouri. Comm. Oper. III Wood consulted a map and determined North Pine Street did not exist in the Summersville area. Using the provided cell phone number, Comm. Oper. III Wood called the driver to determine her location. Unfortunately, they had a poor connection and their call ended. Comm. Oper. Wood III began texting the driver using her personal cell phone in order to determine the driver’s approximate location. She then called out Sergeant S. Neal Foster, Troop G, to assist. Comm. Oper. Wood III continued texting until he arrived. The driver was hypothermic and quite frightened. Sergeant Foster took her to a local department store to acquire dry clothing and then transported her to a residence in Mountain View, Missouri.”
