Deputies Set Up A GoFundMe Page For New Injured Officer
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Men and women in blue in Tarrant County rally around a fellow officer badly hurt in a motorcycle wreck. They've created a "GoFundMe" page to help a Sheriff's Deputy so new to the job that he doesn't have long-term benefits.
"He went down and hurt his leg significantly," Hunter Van Zandt told CBS 11 News. Van Zandt and fellow deputies have worked with Keith Foster only a few months...but Foster's impact on them is impressive. "Serves his community as hard as he can. He's a great friend and a great officer," according to Van Zandt,.
But as a probationary employee he has no full time benefits; he will begin to lose pay shortly due to injuries he received from being thrown off his motorcycle about 7-AM yesterday near McCart and Alta Vista. Witnesses who declined to go on camera told CBS 11 News the rider was thrown from his bike several feet after impact, but the motorcycle itself was caught up underneath the car and dragged much, much further and the car didn't stop.
Now, Hunter has created a "GoFundMe" page to provide money to Foster's family as this husband and father faces an uncertain future. Hunter is grateful for the outpouring of support so far.
"One lowly police officer gets on it and puts the website up and throws a couple of Facebook pages up and next thing you know we've got thousands of dollars in response to this."
$25-hundred on the GoFundMe site alone by Thursday afternoon, plus private donations from county co-workers. The Fort Worth Police Officers Association picked up the request and urged its members to contribute.
Van Zandt says Foster suffered a broken leg and won't return to duty until fully recovered. "And we're all praying he makes a quick recovery."
The Fort Worth Police Department confirms it was a hit and run, since the other driver left the scene. The Sheriff's Department confirms Foster is injured. While it takes no official position on GoFundMe accounts, it confirms this one is not a hoax.
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