Successful surgery for Webb City PD Sergeant struck by alleged drunk driver, more surgery to come

The news is positive from Destin, Florida where an alleged drunk driver struck Webb City Police Department Patrol Sergeant Brian Ward and his two-year-old Knox Tuesday.

Ward's first surgery on a badly broken leg Wednesday was successful, his wife Heather said in a post this morning on her Facebook page, while Knox Ward is scheduled to be moved out of the pediatric intensive care unit and onto the main floor.

Uninjured, at least physically, during the accident, in addition to Mrs. Ward, was the couple's five-year-old daughter Reagan.







Both of them witnessed the accident, which Mrs. Ward described in a Facebook post Wednesday:

Knox landed about 30 feet in front of our vehicle and Brian was drug about 75 yards under the drunk driver's vehicle. I do believe that Brian saved Knox’s life by throwing him to safety. They had to remove the car from Brian.

In her Facebook post this morning, Mrs. Ward, in addition to providing an update on the condition of her husband and son, thanked all of the people who offered an outpouring of love and support following her initial posts:

We are about 36 hours post accident. It feels like time has stopped and we’ve been going through this for weeks. The emotions hit hard last night. I’m guessing my shock has worn off.

Brian’s surgery went well. They got his leg stabilized and now we wait for the swelling to go down. After that, he will have another surgery to repair his leg. The timeline is uncertain at this point.

Knox should be moved out of PICU today to the main floor. His pain seems to have increased so we are working in some pain management this morning. The next step is getting him to want to eat.

The emotions are also hitting Reagan pretty hard today too. Her questions are heartbreaking. I took her to Target to get her some new jammies and a car seat last night.









I have a lot to do today. I have only seen Brian for about 10 minutes since this happened. Gretchen will stay with Knox while I go to see Brian. Our car was also damaged, so I need to get to the storage lot and clean it out so the insurance company can take it. All of our belongings are still in Navarre so I will need to at least get some of our necessities together too.

Lastly, I have read every single message. You all are amazing and I can’t even begin to explain the love that we feel. Out of every message I’ve only read one that was negative. He ridiculed my family for vacationing during this time and stated it was “karma”. I would never wish this situation on anyone, even if I didn’t agree with their decisions. We evaluated every aspect of this trip. Cases are minimal and we have done our best to social distance just like we do at home.

A life lived in fear is no life at all.

An account has been established at Pinnacle Bank to help the Ward family with medical expenses:

WARD FAMILY BENEFIT ACCOUNT

Here is a list of the Joplin metro Pinnacle Bank locations:

1010 S Madison Street, Suite M, Webb City
802 S Main Street, Joplin
2433 S Rangeline Road, Joplin
1316 E 32nd Street, Joplin
1651 W 7th Street, Joplin
501 Cross St, Sarcoxie