It was on March 5 that a Carroll Police Officer was injured in an incident with a man wanted out of Illinois. Officer Patrick McCarty recalls the harrowing chain of events that transpired from spotting the suspect and pulling over the vehicle in which he was a passenger.
He says that is when 27-year-old Dennis Guider, Jr. of Chicago Heights, Ill. took off, with McCarty on the hood.
It was very intense, but very short, lasting only about 29 seconds. McCarty says he must have had a guardian angel or two looking out for him that day as he landed in the only soft spot to be found amid shards of concrete and pieces of re-rod that were protruding up into the air. He was lucky to be alive, but did suffer a serious injury.
McCarty says the prognosis looks good, with a 90 percent chance of full recovery within three months; but right now, his mobility is very limited. He can’t lift his daughter, he can’t lift weights, he was training for a marathon with his father and brother and can’t do that and he wears a brace from his waist to his shoulder. He says he can do little more right now than walk slowly, use a recumbent bike for about 30 minutes or so, read books and watch television—which he says is much better than laying flat on his back like he was initially. McCarty is a normally very active individual who is struggling with not being able to do many things, including getting his property ready for spring and summer. This is when his father and step-mother, Mike and Deb McCarty, came up with an idea.
The school bells rang last Friday afternoon and an impressive swarm of kids made their way to McCarty’s house.
It was the simplest conversations with these kids that had the biggest impact on McCarty.
This, as well as a major outpouring of care from the entire community, has been extremely moving for McCarty and his family. He is humbled by the concern and gratitude that has been shown to them since his accident, saying lately there hasn’t always been a positive outlook with regard to law enforcement, but that is definitely not the case here in Carroll. He feels very appreciated and says the most eloquent thing he can think to say to these amazing kids and the phenomenal community in which he lives is thank you. “You made me and my family very happy, and I can’t say thank you enough.”
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