A Florida police officer is recovering after he was struck by a car and seriously injured while directing traffic last week.
“I’m just happy to be alive, to be honest,” Port St. Lucie Police Officer Richard Mazzio told WPBF-TV.
The incident happened Oct. 19 while Mazzio was working the scene of an accident in a residential neighborhood. He was directing traffic at the scene when another vehicle struck him.
“I hit the bumper, and the bumper cut my knee. And I went on top of the car, on top of the windshield and flew into the swale," ,” Mazzio said.
On Wednesday, police released footage from both Mazzio's body camera and another officer's camera. In the videos, Mazzio can be heard yelling out in pain as the other officer races to help.
"It blindsided me," Mazzio told WPTV-TV. "I hit the car, went over the hood. I cracked the windshield."
"All of a sudden, I’m waking up to other officers assisting me in the swale," he added.
Since the crash, Mazzio, who has been an officer for over two decades, has been using a cane to walk and has one arm in a sling. He said his entire body continues to hurt, and doctors are still trying to determine the extent of his injuries. He doesn't know when—or if—he'll be able to return to duty.
Through the recovery process, Mazzio has been touched by the outpouring of support he's received from the community
"The citizens of Port St. Lucie have been great to police and they’ve posted a lot of great comments and the department has been 100% supportive," he told WPTV.
