By Wendy Hundley
Dallas Morning News
FLOWER MOUND, Texas — Police Officer Kevin Schmidt walks with a little stiffness these days, and he admits to lingering pain in his shoulder.
But the 37-year-old Flower Mound cop isn’t complaining after surviving a horrific on-duty motorcycle accident 18 months ago that nearly claimed his life.
“I was told that nobody thought I would make it,” Schmidt said last week during a break from his traffic patrol duties. He doesn’t remember the July 25, 2007, crash. Accounts say he was pursuing a motorist eastbound on Cross Timbers Road when a driver in a Toyota Camry turned in front of him. Unable to avoid a collision, Schmidt struck the passenger side of the Camry. The impact threw him more than 70 feet and knocked his helmet from his head.
The husband and father of two was flown to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth with a traumatic brain injury, nine broken ribs, collapsed lungs and broken bones in his leg, arm, hand and wrists.
“That’s the closest I’ve seen to an officer being killed in an accident,” said Flower Mound police Sgt. Shane Jennings, who thought that his colleague would never return to the police force.
“When you saw him afterwards, it seemed unlikely,” Jennings said. “You’ve got to be resilient to get back from that.”
Law enforcement jobs are inherently dangerous. Last week, Dallas police Senior Cpl. Norman Smith was shot to death while serving a warrant at an east Oak Cliff apartment.
A couple of weeks before his own accident, Schmidt attended the funeral of Plano police Officer Dayle “Wes” Hardy, who died under similar circumstances when a driver turned in front of his motorcycle.
“You think it will never happen to you,” Schmidt said. “But it did.”
“They didn’t think he was going to make it through the first night,” said his wife, Lynn. “They thought he was going to be the first fatality for the Flower Mound Police Department.”
Schmidt spent three weeks in a coma and remained hospitalized for several more before he was transferred to a rehabilitation center. When he did return to his Midlothian home, his recovery continued with daily visits from therapists.
Through everything, the 2002 Flower Mound Officer of the Year longed to get back to work. Being a police officer “is who he is,” his wife said. “He likes to help people. He’s very caring.”
He sustained no permanent brain damage. While he has limited range of motion in his shoulder and wrists, the 10-year police veteran can still shoot a gun and carry out other duties.
He was finally able to return to light duty last July in the police dispatch center. He rejoined the traffic unit in October. But he now operates from a squad car instead of a motorcycle. After his accident, the department expedited its plan to disband the motorcycle unit, a process that had begun in 2005.
Schmidt said he understands the department’s decision but still loves riding motorcycles -- including his own Yamaha V-Star 1100. For the most part, however, it stays parked in the family garage these days.
He’d like start taking it for long rides again. "[But] my wife’s not ready for that yet,” he said.
Copyright 2009 Dallas Morning News