Forsyth County deputy back on job after DUI crash
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A Forsyth County deputy is back on the job after a horrific crash which could have cost him his life.
Deputy First Class Rod Reeves survived the incredible impact from a car driven by a drunk driver.
Not long ago, a walk down the hallway with Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman was not a given for Deputy First Class Rod Reeves.
It all started around one in the morning on November 18, 2017, when Reeves was hit in his squad car.
“He was traveling at a speed of 88 miles per hour, said Reeves.
The deputy had conducted a traffic stop on Georgia 400 when he got a police call from Alpharetta about a drunk driver headed his way.
“Unfortunately in this instance he kind of found me before I found him,” said Reeves.
The crash crushed his squad car, sending Reeves to the hospital, into a future of five surgeries for broken ribs and a total hip replacement after the incredible impact.
“It hit so violently it went through his hip socket and crushed it and turned it into a lot of pieces,” said Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman.
Deputy Reeves told FOX 5 News the reinforced roll bar cage kept the crushing metal away from him in the front. He said he survived where others in a regular vehicle probably wouldn’t have.
“I think injuries would have been a lot worse possibly even would have resulted in death,” said Reeves.
The suspect who struck Reeves, 27-year-old Aaron Riley Russell, is still facing numerous charges.
Meantime, the deputy is back on duty in a new SUV provided by the sheriff who joins a community thankful the SWAT officer made it back alive and intact.
“I wanted him to have all the incentive in the world not just from his family and his wife and kids but the department, we were standing beside him, this community was standing beside him,” said Sheriff Freeman
The crumpled squad car Reeves was in is in storage as evidence for the trial for the man accused of striking him.