An Oklahoma police officer is fighting for his life after he was critically injured — and “died three times” — in a freak accident in his patrol car.
Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy McCain was leaving Oklahoma Christian School in Edmond, where he works as a resource officer, about 6:50 p.m. Friday when his car struck a partially opened school security gate, The Oklahoman reported.
Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said the deputy was traveling only about 10 mph when the car struck the gate, which pierced the windshield and pinned him to the seat, according to KOKH.
Two off-duty medical workers happened to be at an after-school event nearby and immediately provided first aid before McCain was rushed to OU Medical Center.
“I want to point out that Jeremy died three times that evening,” Johnson told reporters. “That tells you what we’re working with and how grateful we are that he is still here with us.”
He first died at the scene of the crash but “we were able to get him back,” he said.
The second time was in the emergency room, where doctors opened the 11-year veteran’s chest.
“They began to massage his heart for 10 minutes,” Johnson said, KOKH reported.
“I mean, how big is it when the doctors come out and explain to me the shape he was in and said they had to massage his heart for 10 minutes just to keep him alive.”
He then died again during surgery in the operating room, but doctors managed to revive him again and gave him 60 units of blood, he said.
“It’s truly a miracle that he’s still with us,” Johnson said Monday.
“We do know that CT Scans show, at least right now, there does not appear to be any significant brain damage. Jeremy does have a broken neck. That’s the extent we know.”
McCain’s condition has been upgraded from critical to stable.
Police shared a photo on Facebook of McCain — who was described as a single dad of a boy with autism – holding a toy pirate, which they described as the 7-year-old’s favorite.
The sheriff also read a statement from the deputy’s family.
“He has defeated many odds, thus far, and continues to fight the good fight. If any of you have met Jeremy, you would know he is both physically and mentally strong. He is a warrior,” they wrote.
Johnson noted that no one is at fault for the terrible accident.
“There’s no negligence. It’s just an accident that we wish we never had to speak about. But unfortunately we’re here,” he said.
“Sometimes bad things just happen, and this is just one of the things,” the sheriff added.
An investigation is ongoing, police said.