Woman Calls Colleyville Cop 'Hero' After Lightning Strikes Home
COLLEYVILLE (1080 KRLD) - A police officer in Colleyville is being called a hero.
In the early morning hours of March 29th, Ava Fryer was up watching weather coverage of the severe storms blowing through the area. "About 2:15 a.m., I thought 'In about ten minutes, I can go back to bed.' At that moment, the loudest crash and flash I have ever heard or seen hit," Fryer recalled.
Next door, at the police station, Sergeant Kevin Walling was sitting in his patrol car. That loud crash and flash, which turned out to be a lightning strike, caught his attention. "It blinded him for a minute and shook his car. When he could see, he knew something had happened and came this way," said Fryer.
Sgt. Walling got to Fryer's home and met up with her in the garage where she was still trying to figure out what happened. "He said, 'I think your house has been hit and there's smoke on the roof. I have already called the fire department.'"
Fryer said firefighters made quick work of the blaze and the damage to her home was minor. "They were incredible putting out the fire. They made so little mess I still cannot believe it."
Fryer finally got the chance to publicly thank everyone at a city council meeting on Tuesday. "Had Sgt. Walling not been in my driveway, I would not have known what happened and had no idea my roof was on fire. I would have gone on to bed and the fire would have continued. I cannot even begin to entertain what would have happened," said Fryer. "He saved my life and my home, along with the best firemen on the planet."
Sgt. Walling received a standing ovation led by Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Lindamood. "Sgt. Walling is a class act and a reason we're one of the safest cities in Texas," he said. "The men and women of the Colleyville Police Department truly care for the people of this community."
Sgt. Walling has worked for the Colleyville Police Department since June 1999. He spent seven years as a detective and is currently assigned to a patrol shift as a supervisor.
"Ms. Fryer's thanks is much appreciated, but I was just doing my job," said Sgt. Walling.
