Community comes together for deputy hit by drunk driver

A near fatal crash turns into a community rally around a severely injured Forsyth County deputy.

Investigators said Deputy Rod Reeves patrol car was rammed by a suspected drunk driver going 88 miles per hour right before Thanksgiving.

“He's out trying to protect his community, he's hit by a suspected drunk driver, he almost loses his life. This was not a simple accident,” said Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman. “We were very blessed and our prayers were answered, that he has potential for full recovery. But it's a long recovery.”

And as Reeves recovers, Christmas for him and his family will come early. In fact, it'll keep coming, until the husband and father of three returns to work.

“By him not working full-time, most of us in law enforcement, supplement our income with part-time jobs. So now that he's out of work, he can't work those part-time jobs,” said Forsyth Fraternal Order Of Police President Eric Silveus.

Dozens of Forsyth County volunteers, some were law enforcement officers and others were simply touched by Reeves story held white buckets for hours in bright vests, with smiles and hopeful hearts as they asked drivers and shoppers to help someone they don't even know with a bucket drive fundraiser.

“(This will go towards) Christmas bills, medical bills, home bills, (his) wife just started a new job,” Freeman said. “This is a man who wanted to come here so bad, he took a pay cut from his former agency.”

And with an already tough stance on drunk driving, the sheriff said there's been an uptick in DUI'S, so that tough stance has gotten tougher.

“If you want to drink, don't drive. Call Uber, call Lyft, call a 'DD', call me. I just don't want you getting behind that wheel,” Freeman said.

“We deal with a lot of risky situations, a lot of life or death situations, but we're like everyone else, we still have families,” Silveus said.

Reeves could be back to duty in three to six months. But that would be in a limited capacity and also depends on his recovery process.

"Some of my donations are from Florida," she said. "Some are from Atlanta, Dawsonville, Forsyth County, so they're coming from all over."

The donations are pouring in to the non-profit, tax-deductible foundation that supports Forsyth County law enforcement, called BADGE. Nearly $5,000 so far, and that money--along with additional money already in the fund, donated by individuals and corporations--is going directly, and 100 percent, to Deputy Reeves and his family. It is money they will be able to use toward their mounting bills, for expenses that insurance does not cover, for the weeks and months of recovery that Dep. Reeves is facing with the help of his wife and three young sons.

"People here are showing such an outpouring of love for him," Howell said. "It tells you that we are appreciative and we're thankful. And I think that we're all very blessed to have people that are protecting us like they are."

That's why there is a new clarity to this year's Thanksgiving holiday for Deputy Reeves, his family, and the whole community.