Officer Mike Huffman's Story

Early evening on April 26, 2013, off-duty Pasadena Texas police officers Mike Huffman and Larry Candelari were returning from a hunting trip when they came upon a multi-car crash on the side of Interstate 10 eastbound northwest of San Antonio, TX.  Without a moment’s hesitation, they promptly pulled their SUV and trailer over to the side of the road to provide assistance.

Within minutes, a complicated situation became tragically worse when an 18-wheeler careened into the accident scene and ran over Officer Huffman and forced Officer Candelari off the bridge he was standing on, falling to his death.

Officer Huffman, suffering from a range of critical injuries including multiple compound fractures to both legs, was taken by LifeFlight to a hospital in San Antonio.  While the physicians on duty that evening were able to save his life, they had to amputate Officer Huffman’s left leg above the knee and take extraordinary measures to save his right leg.

In this video, Officer Huffman recounts the events of that fateful evening, dealing with his traumatic injuries, the loss of his dear friend Larry, as well as his long road to recovery.  And why, even after all he’s been through, he continues to stop and provide help to others on the side of the road (whether on duty, or off) without a second thought.

Media coverage of the incident and aftermath:

• Officer injured in off-duty accident involving big rig headed home
• ‍Pasadena police officer killed in central Texas wreck

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