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Off-duty cop rescues brother in blue injured in crash with impaired driver

Posted at 8:58 PM, Jul 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-07 23:18:54-04

EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah -- On June 30, Sgt. Daniel Erickson never made it home from working a night shift at the Utah State Prison.

“For a good hour I didn’t know if he was going to live,” said Dacya Erickson, Daniel’s wife.

While on his motorcycle, Sgt. Erickson was hit by a car that drifted over the center lane on Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs, nearly severing his leg.

“Only a little tissue holding his leg on,” Dacya said.

Meanwhile a brother in blue, Sgt. Andrew Jackson, was on his way to work in Salt Lake City when he saw the aftermath of the crash.

“Being at the right place at the right time, having the right guy with the right equipment to do that was just a real stroke of luck for everybody,” said Sgt. Roger Williams of the Saratoga Springs Police Department.

Sgt. Erickson was bleeding severely, so Sgt. Jackson grabbed a tourniquet from his car.

“They had to pick the motorcycle off Sgt. Erickson after they applied the tourniquet," Williams said. "He was covered in gasoline. We were lucky it didn’t catch fire."

Erickson was rushed to the hospital, his leg amputated above the knee. His family says had it not been for Sgt. Jackson, their loved one would have lost his life.

“I can’t imagine not having my husband here with us, and that’s what I think about if he didn’t have that,” Dacya said.

Police say 38-year-old Joshua Billings was the man behind the wheel of the Cadillac that caused the crash.

“We did arrest him after the investigation, found him to be impaired to a degree he couldn't safely operate a motor vehicle,” Williams said.

Billings was booked into the Utah County Jail after police found heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.

“It’s hard to think one senseless act has caused a lot of grief for my family,” Dacya said.

But the Ericksons say their focus is not on the grief but rather on being grateful for the officer who was at the right place at the right time.

“He saved my husband's life, he would have bled out right then, and there he’s a hero in our family and I know that and I want everyone to know that,” Dacya said.

Sgt. Erickson will be in the hospital for several more weeks and has a long road to recovery. A GoFundMe Page and has been set up to help alleviate financial medical costs for the family.