[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1143]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              CONDOLENCES TO INTERSTATE 4 ACCIDENT VICTIMS

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                          HON. ADAM H. PUTNAM

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 29, 2008

  Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my condolences to 
the victims of the deadly 70-car pile up on Interstate 4 in Polk 
County, Florida earlier this month. I would also like to express 
appreciation for the work of many local and state agencies that 
responded to the accident and provided assistance.
  I specifically would like to commend Polk County Sheriff Deputy 
Carlton Turner III who was the first deputy on the scene in the early 
morning hours of January 9th, and who used his vehicle as a barrier and 
later a place of refuge for victims. I would also like to commend 
Deputy Paul Buoniconti, who was also on the scene very early and 
provided critical assistance to the victims.
  In emergency situations it is rightly expected that government 
agencies respond and help citizens in need. The Polk County Sheriff's 
Office, under the leadership of Sheriff Grady Judd, provided critical 
incident command services and logistical support for many responding 
agencies--and they did an outstanding job.
  During the course of this accident, agencies that came together to 
provide critical support included the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the 
Florida Highway Patrol, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Lake 
County Fire Department, the Auburndale Police Department, the Haines 
City Police Department, the Lake Alfred Police Department, the Florida 
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of 
Transportation, the State Fire Marshal's Office, the State of Florida 
State Emergency Response Team, the Polk County Emergency Medical 
Services, Polk County Fire Rescue and Osceola County Fire Rescue.
  The State of Florida is often credited with having one of the best--
if not the best--emergency response models in the nation, and the 
combined efforts of all responding agencies earlier this month 
exemplified this well. Their service likely prevented an even greater 
number of deaths or injuries, and I thank them for their work and 
service.

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