MASSACHUSETTS TROOPER RECALLS BAD NIGHT
State police Maj. Kevin Kelly knows all too well the hidden danger facing cops when they step onto busy highways to do their jobs.
In 1989, the trooper’s career - and his life - was nearly ended when a drowsy driver drifted into the breakdown lane on Interstate 495 in Marlboro, slamming into the unwitting officer as he spoke to a speeder about a citation.
“I saw the car drifting over from the middle lane toward me,” said Kelly, recalling the terrifying Aug. 11, 1989, accident. “It continued and sideswiped my cruiser and hit me head on. I put my hands up when I saw it coming.”
What happened after impact was “messy,” the grizzled Danvers troop commander recalled.
“My hands and face went through the windshield. The hood hit me at waist level and fractured my right hip. The bumper part of the car struck my lower legs and fractured my left knee,” he said.
Because the vehicle careened off his cruiser before striking him, its speed slowed somewhat to about 45 mph, likely saving his life. A five-year veteran at the time, Kelly was carried on the hood for 150 feet before being hurtled down an embankment.
When the smoke cleared, he was left with open compound fractures to both legs that caused massive blood loss and required eight hours of emergency surgery. His left leg was “in pieces” and had to be grafted together with pins and plates.
The driver, who had apparently dozed off behind the wheel, was convicted of driving to endanger and had his license suspended.
Kelly, who ran marathons before the accident, was out of work for nearly three years but eventually returned to full duty. While he hasn’t been able to get back to running marathons, he does run about three miles a day.
Kelly “fully supports” the Move Over Act, saying that cell phone-gabbing and GPS-fiddling drivers are less aware than ever of officer safety on the highways.
“It’s a big problem. Statistically (troopers) are more likely to be killed or injured by a car on the highway than they are by a gunshot,” Kelly said.