ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A veteran St. Johns County Sheriff’s deputy is recovering after getting hit by a minibus during a traffic stop last week, leaving him with a broken hand and injured shoulder.
Now he’s preaching a valuable lesson about Florida’s Move Over Law, which he says the driver who hit him violated.
“I thank God, honestly that I’m alive,” said Deputy Joey Romer whose hand is wrapped up and arm is in a sling. “And it was just a matter of inches. I mean, here I am.”
Romer has been protecting the streets of St. Johns County since 1984 – 40 years of service as a patrol sergeant, a detective, and a K-9 handler. He retired in 2015 but came back as a part-time reserve deputy.
“I thoroughly enjoy it, I do, I came back as a reserve, and just really enjoy helping the guys I volunteered to, you know, work Christmas Eve and throughout the night.”
That dedication nearly cost him his life.
“Maybe six inches” in the other direction would have killed him, he believes.
It was December 27 around 6 p.m. and dark. Romer had pulled over a man for reckless driving on US 1 and International Golf Parkway.
“So as I approach I always I’ll touch a car. And I usually hold the flashlight out, I’ve come out and I’ve been shot at a few times.”
As he approached the window, a minibus in the right lane was coming his way.
“I look up again and he’s just probably within two to three seconds from me,” he recalled. “So I just kind of reacted and got clipped. I think it was the extension of the mirror. I don’t know. I just feel bad for the dispatcher that had to listen to my screaming because I said, ‘I’ve been hit. I’ve been hit. I need rescue code three.’”
Dispatch audio obtained by News4JAX documents his frantic radio call for help.
Oh, St. Johns I need rescue! St. Johns, it was a bus! It was in my lane, I tried to get out of the way and he hit my hand.”
“People have got to move over,” he yelled in frustration and pain.
Oh, and by the way, there’s a plot twist.
“My poor girlfriend was a dispatcher,” he said. “She had been there like two minutes. “The poor thing but she handled it so well. She handled it so well. And, and that’s why I felt bad for screaming the way I did because I was in pain.”
Fellow deputies were close by, helping him out until rescue rushed him to the hospital.
He’s thankful for his colleagues who helped him through a painful situation.
“It affected my shoulder, my chest, my hand, but I’m fortunate to be alive and I thank God for that,” he said.
Many would be upset about this unfortunate situation but Romer says he’s fortunate to walk away from the crash and fortunate to be able to preach the move over law, something the driver of that bus should’ve known.
Let’s make sure we’re on the same page about the Move Over Law. If you’re driving and you see an emergency vehicle, tow truck, road ranger, or construction crew on the side of the road, you must move over. As of 2024, the law expanded to include any disabled vehicle.
And what happens if you can’t? You need to slow down at least 20 miles an hour below the posted speed limit. If the limit is below 20 miles an hour, you need to slow down to 5 miles an hour.
“Just in the last two months I’ve written 13 ‘Move Over’ tickets,” Romer noted. “People just don’t think, I don’t know if they’re on their phones half the time they just don’t care.”
State records show since 2015 there have been 1,700 crashes because people haven’t moved over. That’s led to more than 100 serious injuries and at least 8 deaths.
“This is a life and death type situation, please just move over,” he exclaimed.
Romer is remaining optimistic with a smile on his face and isn’t giving up his adventures.
“I’m supposed to head to Bali to go surfing,” he said. “So that the surfing part is out. But I’m still going to Bali, hopefully.”
And yes, he’s still committed to his community.
Romer said the driver of the minibus, who had a commercial driver’s license, did stop about a mile down the road. Another deputy gave him a ticket for breaking the Move Over Law. Drivers who don’t follow the law could face a moving violation with three points added to their driving record, a $158 fine, and may have to pay additional fees.