DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A Dayton Police recruit remains in critical but stable condition at Miami Valley Hospital after being hit on State Route 4 Thursday afternoon.
Solomon Kessio had been standing outside the police cruiser during speed detection training on SR-4 near Stanley Avenue around 2:30 p.m. Thursday when it was struck by a pickup truck, according to DPD Chief Kamran Afzal.
Two other recruits and their supervisor who remained in the vehicle were transported to Miami Valley Hospital, treated and released.
Kessio has been training with the DPD since March
The occupants of the truck include an 80-year-old driver and a 63-year-old passenger. According to a release from DPD, both remain in the hospital in serious condition.
Sage Knoch, a medic with the U.S. Air Force, and his wife, Amber, witnessed the crash. He said a nurse with Premier Health administered CPR to and stabilized the recruit who had been outside the vehicle until medics arrived.
“I’m glad I could help, I’m glad I could do something, but to be honest, I didn’t do too much,” said Knoch.
“I was just there for support in case it was needed. And she’s the one who did all the work. If she wasn’t there to give CPR as quickly as she did, he probably would be in worse state than he is.”
Afzal said that while DPD has protocols in place for training exercises like these, they can’t plan for everything.
“As a protocol… everybody is required to put a vest on as we try to start the… we do the detail or the training,” said Afzal. “But obviously, if somebody is parked on the shoulder, which we know that they were definitely on the shoulder, that’s not an area that you expect anybody to be following through.”
Law enforcement will not release the 911 calls for the crash for the time being while the crash is still under investigation.
