Trooper Credits Seat Belt For Saving His Life In Head-On Crash
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- From his wheelchair and with his broken legs elevated, Sgt. Mike Krukowski gazed at what had been his Minnesota State Patrol squad car.
But one look at the crumpled and mangled metal he knows full well how lucky he is to be alive.
"The first words out of my mouth were, 'Thank God,' because there is no other reason I'm still here," Krukowski said.
Credit both divine intervention and him wearing a seat belt.
"All I can remember is a car flying towards me. It was breaking through a fence and I had only a fraction of a second to process that," Krukowski said.
He was heading home from the May 15 State Trooper graduation ceremonies and was less than three miles from his Lakeville home. That is when 29-year-old Paul Briggs, driving along Interstate 35, suddenly veered off the roadway and onto a frontage road. Briggs crashed through a chain link fence and head-on into Krukowski's squad.
Krukowski's wife Crissy drove past the crash site on the way to the hospital.
"My heart just dropped," Crissy Krukowski said. "I could feel it myself, because in my mind I had no idea how bad it was when he called."
The 14-year patrol veteran suffered a broken left arm, leg and a severely crushed right foot. Briggs died from his injuries several days later.
State Patrol Chief Col. Matt Langer says the crash serves as a sobering reminder of why enforcing the seat belt law is vital.
"State Troopers believe in wearing seat belts, they just believe in that to their core," Langer said. "And when you look at that car, that Tahoe and you look at Mike Krukowski and his family, that's why we believe in it."
It is a reminder that so suddenly became so personal.