A New Orleans police officer died on Nov. 8, 15 years after he survived in an on-duty crash.
Officer Jude Williams Lewis lost control of his cruiser and crashed into a tree while pursuing a suspect on June 1, 2001, according to WDSU-TV.
The U.S. Army veteran was laid to rest with full military and police honors on Nov. 16.
"The day that the crash happened it was devastating for the entire family," said Lewis' youngest sister, Denise Lewis-Crawford told the news station. "It was just a total loss in itself. Even though he survived it, he was just never that same thriving Jude that we knew. He was no longer able to speak and he was no longer able to walk."
Lewis suffered a traumatic brain injury in the crash and was in a coma for six months.
"When we sign up for this, we're not signing up for a job," New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said. "Although it's a great career, it really is a calling because somewhere in the back of your mind you're accepting that I am going to serve others, I'm going to serve people that I don't know at the risk of possibly being injured and at the risk of possibly even death."
Lewis was buried at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell, Louisiana.
