Sergio Antillon: A Tragic Hero

At approximately zero three hundred hours on October fourteenth, two thousand & ten Officer Sergio Antillon was headed home after his shift on the Northwest side of San Antonio. While driving, he noticed a stranded motorist off to the side of the road, Off. Antillon decided to stop and assist the individual. He and the motorist were outside of their vehicles inspecting the problem car; at this time, another officer who was on-duty joined them. Soon after this Sandra Briggs, a drunk driver, crashed into the vehicles that the officers’ and civilian were near. The crash sent the stranded vehicle into the guard rail, slamming Officer Antillon into the railing; it also caused the stranded motorist to get launched over the guard railing—the other officer was unscathed. Off. Antillon was transferred to a nearby hospital, where he underwent surgery in attempt to save his life. For two weeks after the incident/surgery he remained in a coma, he was ultimately removed from life support, by decision of his loved ones. He passed away on October twenty-ninth, two thousand & ten.
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Had the guilty party not been drinking and driving, this would have been avoided. That being said I do not believe that Officer Antillon or the person he was assisting could have escaped this, they were off to the side and trying to get the vehicle off the roadway. Even if they had seen the vehicle recklessly driving in their direction, the car was moving too fast for anybody to react and move from harm’s way. Anywhere he could have stood in the immediate area would have more than likely resulted in the same tragic accident; the velocity of the vehicle was just too great and the driver too inebriated. Even the safety precautions utilized by officers when working traffic incidents could not have prevented this, a driver under the influence of any substance is just too unpredictable and