Officer William Lewis, 24, suffered a broken right femur and a large laceration to the back of his head in a Feb. 10 wreck. Following the incident, which left Lewis’ police cruiser a mangled piece of metal, Newton Grove police Chief Frankie Harrell and town officials said Lewis was lucky to be alive.
Lewis is still recuperating from his injuries and the police chief said he is hopeful for a return to duty at the end of this month.
“We’re hoping by the end of April,” Harrell said this week. “If he had any other job where he didn’t have to take someone down or run after somebody, it might be different. With the job he does have, it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing how he responds to treatment.”
Lewis reportedly lost control of his patrol cruiser and ran off the side of McLamb Road as he responded to an emergency call at about 7 p.m. Feb. 10. The wreck occurred on McLamb Road, less than a mile outside the Newton Grove town limits.
Lewis was en route to a call of a fight when the cruiser traveled across the center line, overcorrected and ran off the right side of the road, striking several trees before overturning, according to investigators with the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Following the wreck, Lewis was hurried by ambulance to Sampson Regional Medical Center, where a Life Flight helicopter then airlifted him to WakeMed.
Harrell said that Lewis was not charged in connection with the wreck and there was no wrongdoing.
“He was not out of the policy realm, he was within the law,” the police chief remarked. “The best we can tell he just kind of ran off the road.”
No other vehicles were involved. Lewis’ 2003 patrol car has since been replaced with a former Highway Patrol car, a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria, with approximately 20,000 less miles on it. Insurance money was able to cover the purchase of the new vehicle, town officials said.
Missing one of three full-time officers has also not resulted in lack of coverage for the small northern Sampson town, Harrell noted. The rest of the department’s dozen officers — the nine others are part-time employees — have done well in Lewis’ absence, he said.
“Our auxiliaries are stepping in well,” Harrell remarked. As far as a lax, there has been “none at all,” he said.
If there ever is, and additional officers are needed, Sampson County Sheriff’s authorities are just a phone call away. Regardless of the situation, Newton Grove can always count on law enforcement protection, the town’s police chief proclaimed.
“The Sheriff’s Office, whenever we are in a snag, we can always depend on them,” the police chief said. “We will always have coverage.”
Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.
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