LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Metro police officer who was nearly killed by a drunk driver has returned to duty three years after the crash that doctors said he would likely not survive.
Officer Geren Santos was awarded the Purple Heart at the Best of the Badge ceremony earlier this month for surviving injuries after doctors gave him a 10% chance of survival.
Santos was assigned to the motors unit on Sept. 3, 2022, taking part in a DUI blitz when the crash occurred at Walnut and Lake Mead.
“I literally saw the DUI that I was going to. But as I got to Walnut and Lake Mead… I just remember going through a green light and everything just went black,” Santos said.
A speeding truck with a drunk driver ran a red light and struck Santos, throwing him 30 feet from his motorcycle. He was rushed to UMC in critical condition.
“Initially, they gave me a 10% chance of survival… And then there was a talk that I might not be able to walk again. I wasn’t going to talk again,” Santos said.
Santos sustained injuries throughout his body including his brain, spine and hip. He has undergone 23 surgeries and still faces the possibility of a below-knee amputation.
“I have had doctors tell me that I wasn’t going to do this. I wasn’t going to do that. And I’ve proved each one of them wrong,” Santos said.
Santos initially came to Las Vegas for flight school and never planned to become a police officer. As a Red Cross volunteer, he responded to the 1 October shooting.
“Because of everything I saw that night, I told my wife, I was like, I think I need to join Metro,” Santos said.
During his recovery, Santos said there were times he wanted to give up.
“I’ll be honest, there was times where, throughout this process, where I was like, I can’t do this. And I was like, I don’t want to do this,” Santos said.
His family helped him push through the difficult recovery process.
“I wanted to show my kids that no matter how much pain or how much you feel like you can’t push through, there’s always a little left in the tank,” Santos said.
Santos is now assigned to the air unit as a safety officer, helping with helicopter maintenance. He hopes to eventually fly in the helicopter, operating cameras and sharing coordinates with officers on the ground during pursuits.
“To be full duty is just something I didn’t think that was going to be possible in these last 3 years,” Santos said.
The driver who hit Santos was convicted of DUI with substantial bodily harm and reckless driving.
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