SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Months after a fatal collision claimed the life of San Diego Police Officer Austin Machitar, his partner Officer Zachary Martinez who was critically injured in that crash, is back to work and on patrol.
Officer Martinez returned to work after months of hospital care and physical therapy. In late August he suffered from brain bleeds, broken bones and burns to his hands after a suspect fleeing a police pursuit crashed into their patrol car going 90 mph in Clairemont. Both that driver and Officer Machitar were killed.
“I’m truly grateful to get a second chance to do it again,” said 27-year-old Zachary Martinez.
Martinez doesn’t remember before or after the accident and spent several days in a coma. The one thing he does recall is a memory of him saying a prayer asking for a second chance.
“During the coma, I didn’t know it was coma, but I remember there was a mixture of dark and light, and I was on the ground and I was saying a prayer. And at the end of my prayer I woke up, and I woke up in the hospital,” said Martinez. “I prayed to God above and I asked can I have a second chance, and at the end of Amen that prayer was answered right away.”
His survival has boosted his faith and he feels overwhelmed by all the support he was given along the way.
“From the Mayor, citizens of San Diego, the Chief of Police and below, it felt great. The outpouring of support was amazing. When I was in the hotel they had a meal train and would bring us food every day and the random letters from the community and the Mayor himself, he gave me a hand written letter. It shows you that you aren’t alone in battles like this,” Martinez explained.
