Oklahoma House Passes Slow Down And Move Over Bill Named After Muskogee Man

A bill that just passed the house makes the punishment harsher for people who don’t slow down or move over for emergency vehicles on the side of the road.

The bill is named in honor of a tow truck operator from Muskogee who was hit and killed on the job last year.

Chelsea Mills said losing her husband John was her biggest fear and she hopes people will hear his story and pay attention to vehicles stopped next to the road.

Chelsea said her husband John was someone who always made her laugh and who cared deeply about helping people.

“He would make fun of you, but he was first to help,” she recalled.

She said that’s why he was a tow truck driver– he loved the excitement and being a helper.

Chelsea said troopers knocked on her door in November, telling her that John had been hit and killed while towing a car on Highway 69 in Wagoner County.

"All of us tow spouses, husbands, wives, they all know,” she said.

The Oklahoma house has passed a bill called the "John Mills Bill," which would make the fines bigger for anyone who doesn’t move over or slow down for any worker with flashing lights who's pulled over on the side of the road.

“Since 2000 alone, we’ve had 12 wrecker drivers killed in the state of Oklahoma," said Dustin Horn.

Dustin owns Chickasaw Towing in Pauls Valley and helped push for the bill.

He said every day tow truck drivers and other responders risk their lives and people have to pay attention.

“It’s not only for us as tow operators, but EMT, fire, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, we all need that protection to slow down and move over," he said.

Chelsea said her husband’s legacy lives on in their 18-month-old son, John Jackson.

She said this bill is just the start, but it means a lot to have his name on it.

“It’s more than $250, more than $5,000, more than $10,000," Chelsea said. "It's our sons, our husbands, our brothers, our whole world.”

The bill increases the fine to $10,000 if someone is killed by a person who doesn't move over or slow down and it now advances to the senate.