Code Three | Page 8

the throttles. The bull horn blared and a second later, with MSO
Kelly Lightfoot snugged in her dispensary cocoon and both troopers in body cushions,
Car 56 lifted a foot from the roadway, and leaped forward on a turbulent pad of air. It
accelerated from one hundred to two hundred fifty miles an hour.
The great red emergency lights on the bow and stern began to blink and from the special
transmitter in the hull a radio siren wail raced ahead of the car to be picked up by the
emergency receptor antennas required on all vehicles.
The working part of the patrol had begun.
* * * * *
Conversation died in the speeding car, partly because of the concentration required by the
troopers, secondly because all transmissions whether intercom or radio, on a code two or
three run, were taped and monitored by Control. In the center of the instrument panel, an

oversized radiodometer was clicking off the mileage marks as the car passed each
milestone. The milestone posts beamed a coded signal across all five lanes and as each
vehicle passed the marker, the radiodometer clicked up another number.
Car 56 had been at MM 23 when the call came. Now, at better than four miles a minute,
Beulah whipped past MM 45 with ten minutes yet to go to reach the scene of the accident.
Light flurries of wet snow bounced off the canopy, leaving thin, fast-drying trails of
moisture. Although it was still a few minutes short of 1700 hours, the last of the winter
afternoon light was being lost behind the heavy snow clouds overhead. Ben turned on the
patrol car's dazzling headlight and to the left and right, Clay could see streaks of white
lights from the traffic on the green and blue lanes on either side of the quarter-mile wide
emergency lane.
The radio filled them in on the movement of other patrol emergency vehicles being
routed to the accident site. Car 82, also assigned to NAT 26-West, was more than one
hundred fifty miles ahead of Beulah. Pittsburgh Control ordered Eight Two to hold fast to
cover anything else that might come up while Five Six was handling the current crisis.
Eastbound Car 119 was ordered to cut across to the scene to assist Beulah's crew, and
another eastbound patrol vehicle was held in place to cover for One One Nine.
At mile marker 80, yellow caution lights were flashing on all westbound lanes, triggered
by Philadelphia Control the instant the word of the crash had been received. Traffic was
slowing down and piling up despite the half-mile wide lanes.
"Philly Control this is Car 56."
"Go ahead Five Six."
"It's piling up in the green and white," Ben said. "Let's divert to blue on slowdown and
seal the yellow."
"Philly Control acknowledged," came the reply.
* * * * *
The flashing amber caution lights on all lanes switched to red. As Ben began
de-acceleration, diagonal red flashing barriers rose out of the roadway on the green and
white lanes at the 85 mile marker and lane crossing. This channelled all traffic from both
lanes to the left and into the blue lane where the flashing reds now prohibited speeds in
excess of fifty miles an hour around the emergency situation. At the same time, all
crossovers on the ultra high yellow lane were sealed by barriers to prevent changing of
lanes into the over-congested area.
As Car 56's speed dropped back below the two hundred mile an hour mark the cocoon
automatically slid open. Freed from her safety restraints, Kelly jumped for the rear
entrance of the dispensary and cleared the racking clamps from the six autolitters. That
done, she opened another locker and reached for the mobile first-aid kit. She slid it to the
door entrance on its retractable casters. She slipped on her work helmet with the built-in

transmitter and then sat down on the seat by the rear door to wait until the car stopped.
Car 56 was now less than two miles from the scene of the crash and traffic in the green
lane to the left was at a standstill. A half mile farther westward, lights were still moving
slowly along the white lane. Ahead, the troopers could see a faint wisp of smoke rising
from the heaviest congregation of headlights. Both officers had their work helmets on and
Clay had left his seat and descended to the side door, ready to jump out the minute the car
stopped.
Martin saw a clear area in the green lane and swung the car over the dividing curbing.
The big tracks floated the patrol car over the two-foot high, rounded abutment that
divided each speed lane. Snow was falling faster as the headlight picked out a tangled
mass