YORK, Pa. – In April of 2014, Robert Glatfelter III died from a drug overdose.
“Bob died in a motel room in Bucks County,” said his mother, Vickie Glatfelter
Glatfelter says the woman Bob was with waited for six hour before calling to get help. She even took a picture of him. She is now serving jail time, but it will not bring Bob back. Glatfelter does feel some anger, but has learned to deal with it.
“My son’s death gave me a purpose and it gave me a voice and I am going to use that to try to help as many people as I can,” she said.
She, other families, the Heroin Task Force of York County, district attorney’s office and supporters gathered in York Sunday to spread the world about the Good Samaritan Law.
They feel one of the main reasons people run instead of calling 911 is they are afraid they will get in trouble. They want people to know the Good Samaritan Law protects you.
” A lot of people are not calling 911 when other individuals are having overdoses and that’s terrible because EMT , emergency services can’t get to the scene and people die,” said chief deputy prosecutor David Sunday.
The law went into effect earlier this year. It protects people who call for help. It protects someone from being charged or prosecuted for having or buying small amounts of drugs and using, having or providing drug paraphernalia. Plus, a person can be immune from violations of probation and parole.
” Our hope is that if people can call 911 instead of running and leaving people to die then more people will be saved,” said Sunday.
He adds, the whole goal is to save lives.
