December 19th, 2007 I found myself lying motionless in a ditch fighting for my life.  What got me there was a series of bad decisions and judgments made by a young 20 year old boy, named Jeremy White.  I had made an enforcement stop on a vehicle for speeding on US 101 northbound, north of Ventura City limits.  The speeding vehicle had yielded to the right shoulder, and I approached on the passenger side.  I was conversing with the driver through the open right side window of the vehicle while standing on the right shoulder well away from traffic.  Even though I was periodically looking back towards traffic, I had no idea of what was about to happen.

Jeremy White allowed his vehicle to veer off the roadway onto the right shoulder.  While there are many speculated reasons why he veered off the road, the primary reason was due to Jeremy being under the influence of ecstasy and an unusually high amount of marijuana.

Jeremy was driving a Chevrolet truck at 74 mph with two motorcycles in the back.  He entered on the shoulder area, missed my motorcycle that was parked behind the stopped vehicle, and collided into the rear of the stopped vehicle.  The impact caused the stopped vehicle to be pushed several hundred feet forward, killing the driver instantly.  The force of the crash resulted in the stopped car striking me.  The stopped vehicle continued forward, burst into flames, and burnt to the ground.  The resulting force threw me approximately 70 feet through the air and tumbling across the ground.  I came to rest in a small clearing in a ditch below the level of the roadway.  Initially, no one could see me in the ditch.  However, people arriving at the scene observed my motorcycle standing upright and assumed I was there investigating the collision.  It wasn't until a retired police dispatcher arrived on scene and realized I was missing.  She got on my police radio and called for help at the same time an Army medic driving by stopped, and attended to me.  Meantime, Jeremy and his passenger were uninjured running around on the freeway crying. Sheriff helicopters arrived on scene, got an airway started for me, and rushed me to Ventura County Medical Center.  The arriving CHP officers attended to the scene for several hours and took Jeremy to jail.

I arrived at Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC) where two great doctors (Romero and Herman) saved my life.  Once in the emergency room (ER), Romero only gave me 10 minutes to live.  He later said that with the vital stats and injuries I had, he didn’t expect me to make it.  He indicated his hope was for me to stay alive until my wife arrived.  I didn’t wake up until several days after the collision, the exact day I don’t recall.  I spent 2 ½ months in intensive care at VCMC followed by another 5 months at Craig Hospital in Colorado.

I feel as though I snatched life from the jaws of death, and a few teeth marks are to be expected. I feel lucky to be here considering; I was nearly dead lying motionless in a ditch. At that time it was simply my body fighting for its biological life and my mind was elsewhere, not involved in the least. The days surrounding the incident were purged from my memory, but the moment I awoke, my mind began fighting for my human life.  After being treated in the ER for several hours, the doctors only gave me less than a 20% chance of living.

This event, not an accident, has obviously caused me severe and irreversible injuries. I am now a paraplegic, completely paralyzed from the bottom of my shoulder joints down. My neck was broken and required a bone graft, titanium plate, and fusion of vertebrate. My back was broken, dislocated, and my spinal cord was completely severed. The severed cord, which is very rare, means I have absolutely no chance of walking or improving my neurological state. My chest was effectively crushed.  All of my ribs on the left side were broken in multiple places, along with about half on the right. At the scene, my lung cavity immediately filled with blood collapsing both of my lungs, which became the life threatening aspect of my injuries. My lung capacity will never be the same. My collarbone was broken in three places, the left shoulder joint was broke in two places, and my left scapula was fractured.  My left arm was partially paralyzed, but I have regained most of the movement.

My brain was damaged in numerous places. A skull fracture behind my left ear resulted in bleeding in multiple areas of the brain.  The surface on the front of my brain was injured as well. The brain stem sustained the most damage, causing serious complications throughout my body such as: a paralyzed vocal cord which left me unable to speak for 5 months; partially paralyzed throat muscles causing me the inability to eat or swallow for 5 months, both of which I still have severe limitations. The muscles and nerves were damaged to my right eye, which left me with strabismus (a crooked eye) and constant double vision. In general, the paralysis has a profound effect on my body. I can no longer go to the bathroom like normal, as I have no control of my bowel or bladder; along with complete atrophy of all muscles below my injury level. Obviously, my athletic career and my career as a CHP officer as I knew them, are over. While I was in ICU, I gave my wife a chance to take the kids and leave me with no questions asked. I felt she didn’t marry the man she was looking at lying paralyzed in a bed, on life support, chest tubes draining blood, and with numerous lines and tubes going in and out of my body. She refused and has been by my side throughout. The ripple affect of my injury has provoked emotions from sadness, anger, resentment, and helplessness in my parents, extended family, friends, and people I have never even met. This incident was the result of young person making a seriesof extremely poor judgments and decisions. Were they born out of ignorance? Absolutely not.  After learning about his extensive poor driving record and previous arrests for possession, he knew the possible consequences. Ignorance implies there is a lack of knowledge, which is not the case. A prudent person would deduce that being under the influence of marijuana, one of the highest values the crime lab has ever tested, as well as ecstasy; then getting in your car and driving would be extremely dangerous and reckless.

 Jeremy knew the risks, but his contempt for the law, arrogance that nothing would happen to him, and general conceit towards the public; resulted in him choosing to drive. I don’t believe he set out on that day to kill a man and severely injure a Police officer. As I have said before, I harbor no ill will or a sense of vengeance towards Jeremy in regards to the incident and my injuries. However, I think his choice that day was a conscious one, that he was aware of the possible dire consequences.

My closing statement at Jeremy’s sentencing hearing, “To Jeremy, I sincerely hope you change and become a better person. When you walk out of prison-you will walk. You will be around my age and have life’s opportunities in front of you. When I roll out of this courtroom, I continue to battle my life sentence as a paraplegic. But I will do so, not in sadness or despair, but rather embracing and welcoming the challenge, while living life to the best of my abilities.”