ST. JOSEPH CO — A serious crash near the intersection of Ironwood and Ashmont Place Monday morning sent emergency responders to investigate and volunteers to block the roads. What happened two hours later at the same crash scene could have been a lot worse.

The first accident happened just before 3 a.m. Police found Darius Battle, 23, unconscious behind the wheel of his car. Investigators later said he was southbound on Ironwood when his car left the road, hit some trees then came to a stop in the middle of the road.

He was transported to a local hospital.

Russ Lavine and his son, Russell, are on St. Joseph County’s V.E.S.T (Volunteer Emergency Service Team). The two were activated to block roads and help police and firefighters with traffic control.

The Lavines are two of about 30 people involved in V.E.S.T. The team isn't paid for blocking traffic, fire rehabilitation or any of the other services it provides.

“We were sitting there blocking the road and there was this car coming at us,” said Russell. “I don't know, probably faster than 40 [miles per hour].”

It happened in a matter of seconds.

“He wasn’t slowing down,” remembered Russ. “I went to get out of my car and he swerved over toward us and I jumped out of the way.”

Russell said he quickly pulled his foot inside the jeep and closed the door.

“If I had never done that, I could have [had] a broken leg. Or worse, if I would have gotten out of the car, I would [have been] smashed,” he told WSBT.

Instead, the car jerked to the left and just clipped the corner of the Jeep. Its lights and lights from at least one other V.E.S.T unit had been flashing, warning drivers of the closed road.

“By the time he stopped,” estimated Russ, “he missed the firefighters, county [police] within five feet of their accident scene.”

Police said the driver of that car — 26-year-old Kyle Mallory, of Granger — was drunk. His blood alcohol content was 0.21. The legal driving limit is 0.08.

The Lavines and others on the scene could have easily become statistics. According to ResponderSafety.com, so far in the United States this year, 18 first responders have been hit while on duty at an accident, two died.

“There are hundreds more every year that are near misses or close calls as well,” said Clay Fire Territory Division Chief Brian Kazmierzak.

Federal law is supposed to make everyone highly visible.

All responders, whether it be police, fire, ambulance, tow truck drivers or even the news media, while operating on highways are required to be wearing vests,” said Kazmierzak. “[That] helps bring the eye of the driver toward the responders and kind of helps them see what's going on.”

But accidents can happen so quickly.

“Last night was really close, and it hits close to home when these kinds of things happen,” Kazmierzak explained.

“[It] could have been a lot worse,” said Russ.

Police preliminarily charged Mallory with criminal recklessness, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

Battle, the driver of the car from the first crash, was still listed in serious condition Monday evening.