A month ago, Spanish Fork police officer Larry Penrod was doing what he loved best besides being with his family - working as a law enforcement officer.
Now, the six-year Spanish Fork Police Department veteran (with 13 years experience overall) is fighting to regain his health at Payson's Mountain View Hospital after suffering serious injuries in a freak traffic accident.On April 15, Penrod and fellow officer Kendall Atwood were performing a routine investigation of an accident that had occurred earlier that day.
While measuring and diagraming the prior accident, which occurred on Spanish Fork's 1000 N. Main, Penrod was struck by a northbound vehicle driven by an 18-year-old Spanish Fork woman.
According to the Utah Highway Patrol report on the accident, Penrod, 47, was struck by the car's grille and rolled onto the hood first, then he struck the windshield, rolled off and struck the pavement.
Penrod was taken to Mountain View Hospital, suffering from pulmonary contusions and fractures of the face, ribs, spine and right leg. Until last week, he was in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit.
Last week, his condition was improved to serious but stable, according to a hospital spokeswoman. He's stable and improving a little bit each day.
Spanish Fork Police Department Lt. Brad Stone said Penrod was in the process of finishing up the accident report when he was struck.
"It was really a tragic situation. Larry and Kendall were just about finished, and it's not that (the car) was going very fast. It was just the whole circumstance of the thing itself.
"When he hit the windshield, he rolled off and hit the pavement, and I guess he sustained some of the injuries there."
Stone said that the measurements were part of a routine investigation, "and the circumstances were just so strange. It's kind of an unreal situation, and it's a silly way for something like this to happen."
While hospital officials are uncertain how long Penrod's recovery will take, they also said he could possibly resume his patrol activities should his condition continue to progress.
"He's stable right now, and we're doing the best we can do. His improvement will probably be slow but sure. It's impossible to say how long it will take at this point, though.
"He had just so many injuries - with multiple injuries and fractures - that we've had to concentrate on treating them one at a time," a spokeswoman said. "He was hurt so critically."
Though Penrod initially was unresponsive to treatment, his recent improvements have led some hospital officials to believe his condition could soon change dramatically.
"It's wait and see now, but the next few weeks will be critical," the spokeswoman said.
UHP officer Dave Guest investigated the accident and, according to Highway Patrol officials, no charges have been filed against the driver.