Terry Fent, who was still in his probationary phase, was in University of South Alabama Medical Center in stable conditon after being upgraded from critical condition Saturday, Ingram said.
The chief said that Fent suffered fractures to his back in two places, had multiple lacerations to the face and head and had a spinal cord injury that caused limb numbness but so far no paralysis.
Ingram said that Fent was in his pickup truck on Hoffman Road about 2 miles west of Summerdale about 8:10 a.m. when he spotted what he thought was a fox or coyote in the road. A wheel left the pavement, and Fent’s truck went into a ditch and struck a culvert, Ingram said.
“Hoffman Road doesn’t have any kind of shoulder along there,” Ingram said.
No one else was in the truck with Fent, the chief said. He added that the victim was heading down to Summerdale police headquarters for a training session.
Due to the officer’s probationary status, his health insurance had not gone into effect, Ingram said. He said that he wants to address the mayor and city council about situations like Fent’s. “We’ve never had anything like this here before,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ingram said the department is setting up a trust fund to help cover Fent’s medical expenses. “He has a long recovery ahead of him,” Ingram said.
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