PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Portland Police Bureau officer is recovering from a violent crash — after authorities said he was hit by a drunk driver for the second time in five months.
Officer Mark Gaither was sitting idly in his cruise on March 19 on I-205 when an SUV smashed into him — trapping the officer inside his car. He had to be extricated and was then rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.
“His fellow officers, you know, rolled up to the scene and thought he was dead,” Gaither’s oldest daughter Maggie told KOIN 6 News.
He had been sitting in a construction zone near Powell making sure drivers slowed down when one didn’t. At the time, a witness said she thought that driver hit 120 miles an hour before the crash.
“It was really loud and really bad,” Zitlaly said.
Gaither’s family said he will recover, but he’s still in the hospital with fractured ribs and a fractured femur. They also can’t believe his bad luck as he had already been hit on duty by a drunk driver.
“Just a couple weeks ago, he just got back to work and then this happened,” Maggie told KOIN 6.
While no one wants to see a family member in the hospital, the Gaither family has received an outpouring of support from the law enforcement community — with a flock of them visiting him in the hospital.
After all of this, Maggie said her dad still knows it’s important to get back on the road.
“The injuries are kind of horrible, but they’re recoverable, and he’s able to come home soon and be with his family,” she said.
Maggie also wants drivers, who’ve had anything to drink, to think about her dad before getting behind the wheel.