HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – A Houston police officer who was critically injured when an alleged drunken driver crashed into his squad car on Christmas Eve was released from a hospital Thursday, almost six months after he nearly lost his life.
Officer John Daily, 25, suffered burns over 50 percent of his body after a man suspected of driving drunk crashed into Daily and his partner, Officer Alonzo Reid.
A fireball engulfed their patrol unit.
Reid was released from the hospital on Christmas Day.
Daily's recovery proved to be more difficult.
"I feel better, much better than Dec. 25. I can walk. There's still some progress that needs to take place but, you know, I'm getting there," Daily said during a press conference minutes after his release from Memorial Hermann TIRR.
The investigation
Daily and Reid were responding to a call when, according to police, 28-year-old Leonel Moreno crashed into them near the intersection of Telephone Road and Almeda Genoa in southeast Houston.
Another man, Cesar Collazo, was initially charged, although DNA testing confirmed he was not the driver of the SUV that crashed into the officers. Investigators now say Collazo was a passenger.
The recovery
"The burns ... they're the worst pain anyone can go through," Daily said.
Daily fought hard, flanked by brothers and sisters in blue and others nationwide who reached him, spreading love.
That's what got him through, he said.
Daily said he'll need more physical therapy and it is unclear when he will return to work.
"If they'll keep me, I'll stay," he said about returning to work.
"You're staying," Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner quipped, prompting a roar of laughter.
Fighting drunken driving
Daily's goal is to fight drunken driving in Southeast Texas. He recalled meeting other patients injured by drunken driving crashes.
"There are other victims in there who are completely brain dead, back injuries and spinal cord injuries. The hospital is chock-full of them," Daily said.
It's a reality the police officer wants to change.
"It's ridiculous," Daily said. "Then you ask yourself why and it's responsibility and selfishness."
These are filings of drunken driving cases by year from Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg's office:
- 2015: 10,932
- 2016: 11,410
- 2017: 12,411
- 2018: 14,194
- 2019: 6,694