Woman who Drove Wounded S.C. Police Officer to Hospital Honored

Dec. 22, 2021

"I was glad that she had a willingness to help me," North Augusta Public Safety Lt. Aaron Fittery said about the Allison Shellstrom, who rushed the officer to hospital after he was shot by a suspect Dec. 9.

By Miguel Legoas

Source The Augusta Chronicle, Ga.

Allison Shellstrom stands next to North Augusta, SC, Public Safety Lt. Aaron Fittery after she was honored by city officials for helping Fittery after he had been wounded in a Dec. 9 shootout.

As he stood in the halls of North Augusta's Municipal Building, wearing a Band-Aid over where he had been shot in the line of duty, Lt. Aaron Fittery said he is happy to just to be here and be with his family.

The North Augusta Public Safety officer was the victim of a shootout following a high-speed pursuit on Dec. 9. Thomas Michael Airington of Clarks Hill, SC, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, one count of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person convicted of a violent felony and one count of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

During the chaos, resident Allison Shellstrom was nearby, helped Fittery into her vehicle and took him to Augusta University Medical Center for treatment.

"It happened very quickly," Fittery said. "But I was glad that she had a willingness to help me."

North Augusta honored Shellstrom on Monday with a proclamation for being "such a thoughtful, caring and compassionate citizen who was not afraid to come to the lieutenant's aid." She declined to comment following the meeting.

Fittery was treated and released from Augusta University Medical Center in a relatively short amount of time. His injuries were not extreme, but he said he's felt the love and support of his fellow officers, friends and family.

"My phone was not with me at the time, so when I got back to my phone, I probably had 150 or so messages from different people just hearing about the incident, wanting to check on me," Fittery said. "Ever since then, there's not an hour that goes by that someone didn't call and lend a helping hand."

North Augusta Public Safety Chief John Thomas said he's kept in touch with the lieutenant every day since the shooting to make sure he and his family have everything they need.

"Aaron's a great public safety officer, he does things tremendously," Thomas said. "Just a testament of the supervision we have here in the city."

Fittery said he's eager to get back on the job and hopes that this story serves as a spotlight for all of the good public safety officers out there.

"There's police officers out here that are doing the right thing every day," he said. "They care about people, and that they're willing to sacrifice themself to try to make sure that your family and yourself are safe every day,"

___

Visit The Augusta Chronicle (Augusta, Ga.) at chronicle.augusta.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.