CINCINNATI, Ohio — In the middle of last weekend’s winter storm, an Ohio Department of Transportation snowplow driver helped carve a path through treacherous roads so an ambulance transporting a sick baby could reach Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for urgent care.

ODOT driver Joe Este said he got the call about 20 minutes into his shift on Sunday, Jan. 25, after crews warned they were running out of time to get the infant, Bryson, to a hospital capable of providing a higher level of care. The baby needed to be moved from Mercy Anderson to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Avondale, but the storm had left roads close to impassable.

“I got a phone call and they said, ‘We’ve got a sick baby and we need to get there, we’re losing our window of time,’” Este said.

Kelly Besl, with Cincinnati Children’s Critical Care Transport Team, said the team knew an ambulance couldn’t safely make the trip alone in the conditions, so they requested ODOT assistance to clear a route. Este plowed miles of roadway with the transport team close behind, keeping the ambulance moving as snow and ice from the storm — nicknamed “Winter Storm Fern” — made travel difficult across the Tri-State.

“It’s probably the most important trek of my ODOT career,” Este said. “It wasn’t just pushing snow; it was getting this ambulance to this hospital safely and back.”

ODOT said crews worked more than 30 hours in three days during the storm to keep roads passable. Members of the transport team said they had never dealt with a situation like this before and credited the plow escort with making the transport possible. A respiratory therapist on the transport later met Este and thanked him, recalling how he stayed focused on what the team needed and where they were headed.

The transport team said Bryson and his family are safe and doing well.

Este, who is also a parent, said the call hit home. “As a parent myself, knowing I played a small role in helping this ambulance and this child and this family make it… it’s a feel-good story,” he said.

He also urged motorists to stay off the roads during severe weather so crews can work and first responders can get through. “Give us room to work so these real heroes can get where they need to be,” Este said.

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