PORTLAND, Ore. — A Washington County deputy who was critically injured six weeks ago in a deadly Beaverton crash is being released from a hospital and moved into a rehabilitation center to continue his recovery, the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) said Tuesday.
Deputy Mike Trotter's patrol vehicle was hit by a driver who ran a red light at the intersection of Southwest Tualatin Valley Highway and Southwest Murray Boulevard on the morning of Wednesday, April 27.
The car that hit him was occupied by five Southridge High School students, Beaverton school officials said.
Two of the students, 17-year-old Matthew Amaya and 16-year-old Juan Pacheco Aguilera, died at the scene. The other three students, as well as Trotter, were hospitalized. The teen who was driving, Xavier Denzel Rodriguez, 18, is facing several charges, including manslaughter.
The deputy's wife, Heather Trotter, spoke to KGW outside the hospital one day after the crash. She recounted the moment that her husband's colleagues from the sheriff's office knocked on her door to give her the bad news.
"I was like 'Oh my god, is he alive?'" she said. "[They said] 'Yeah, no, yes — but we don't know his condition.' And I was like 'Oh my god, thank you ... Okay, breathe.' Then I made it up the stairs, tried to receive the information that I was given and we left the house promptly and came here."
She said her husband's pelvis was destroyed and he had internal bleeding.
After 41 days at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, Deputy Trotter was transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Members of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue took him in an ambulance — done at his request for being instrumental in saving his life, WCSO said in a news release.
A GoFundMe page created to support Deputy Trotter's recovery has raised more than $116,000.
“Mike and I want to thank the entire, phenomenally amazing medical team at Emanuel Hospital and all the first responders who helped save Mike’s life," Heather Trotter said Tuesday. "Thank you as well to all people who contributed to the GoFundMe account. The generosity was overwhelming and we are so appreciative."
The Beaverton Police Department is leading the investigation into the crash.