Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100044
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Their injuries mean five of the department's 17 patrol officers are out of commission on job-related physical disabilities.
Sgt. Hank Epperly and Officer Todd Miller had finished working a wreck on South Franklin Street near Franklin Parke and Interstate 81 but couldn't find anyone to respond to a clipped telephone pole that was hanging into the road.
After about an hour at the scene, the officers decided to move the pole themselves, said Chief Ron Lemons.
"When they did, the guy wire to it snapped," Lemons said. The pole struck Epperly in the back, knocking him to the ground and twisting his ankle. When the cable that stabilized the pole snapped, it hit Miller in the lower left leg, causing a compound fracture of both the tibia and fibula, Lemons said.
Epperly was treated and released from Montgomery Regional Hospital. Miller will likely be hospitalized for four or five days, Lemons said.
Three other officers have recently sustained injuries.
Officer Bill Baker is recuperating from a broken kneecap suffered when he was involved in a wreck that killed a Christiansburg woman earlier this year.
On Monday, Officer Rick Eanes jammed his left knee as he helped a woman by pushing her disabled car out of the road. Eanes tore cartilage and ligaments when the woman unexpectedly braked as he was pushing.
On Tuesday afternoon, Officer Mike Lawrence fractured a vertebra when he lost his footing on sleet-covered grass and landed on his back after unlocking a car door, Lemons said.
Eanes and Lawrence work on the same shift, as do Epperly and Miller. The five injuries - coupled with vacations and schooling for other officers - have required some creative scheduling.
"We'll manage," smiled Lemons.
One thing that makes smiling in the face of adversity possible, he said, is "the support that the town gives us when we are injured."
Town Manager John Lemley and his wife were waiting for the officers when they arrived at the hospital, and several rescue squad members also came by. And, Town Council members called dispatchers Thursday morning to check on the officers.
"The support we get here is just unreal. ... That is the way our town is and that really means a lot to our group. It means a lot to all of us to know they're behind us," Lemons said.
by CNB