New Kent sheriff injured in freak accident while directing traffic

New Kent Sheriff F.W. “Wakie” Howard Jr. suffered broken bones in two places in his right ankle along with other minor injuries when he attempted to divert a vehicle while on duty directing traffic entering a local church’s drive-thru Nativity scene.

The mishap occurred after dark last Wednesday in a median strip crossover on Route 60 in Lanexa, directly across from the entrance to Liberty Baptist Church. Howard was on traffic duty to assist with the church’s annual outdoor Nativity event, something he has done regularly for the past several years.

In an interview, Howard said he had just moved his police cruiser away from the crossover so as to prevent the vehicle’s lights from becoming a distraction at the Nativity when he spotted another car about to turn off Route 60 and into the event’s exit road. He grabbed his flashlight and ran across the grassy median toward the other car, attempting to alert the driver with the flashlight’s beam.

But as he jumped a ditch to reach pavement, he landed just short with his right foot plunging into an opening in a concrete culvert cover. Blinded by the other vehicle’s headlights, he said he never saw the grass-obscured culvert before taking the leap.

“I jumped thinking I was close to the end of the median, but my foot went in between the pipe and concrete and I was stuck,” Howard said. “It jerked me and slammed me face down.”

Describing the culvert and cover, and now able to chuckle a bit about the accident, he said, “It’s a structure that’s built to keep animals — and obviously sheriffs — from falling into the culvert pipe.”

But Howard wasn’t laughing that night. As his foot became trapped, he tumbled to the ground, sustaining several cuts and abrasions along with jolts to a number of joints and his torso that would cause pain for the next few days. His head also struck the ground, and he admitted the impact “rang my bell,” but he sustained no damage.

Luckily, an unidentified man, who had watched Howard fall, rushed to his aid.

“He wanted to call the rescue squad, but I said I was okay,” the sheriff said. “The rescue squad is for much more serious cases, and I didn’t want them to waste a call on me.”

Dazed from the fall, Howard didn’t realize the extent of his injuries after his foot had been freed. He saw blood, but decided to return to his cruiser to assess the situation.

“First, I wanted to see where the blood was coming from, and I could see it was coming from several cuts,” he said. “After sitting there for about five minutes, I said let’s see if I can walk this off. I found I couldn’t put any weight on it.”

Howard then radioed the nearest deputy on duty, Sgt. Brent Thomas, for assistance.

“I still didn’t know I was hurt that bad, but Brent told me he knew something was wrong because I didn’t sound right [on the radio].”

Thomas transported Howard to St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond where x-rays revealed the right ankle fractured in two places. Fortunately, no other bones were broken. Hospital staff outfitted the sheriff with a hard cast.

“I had high-topped boots on, and the doctor said that if I didn’t have them on, I probably would have had a compound fracture,” Howard said.

Since then, the cast has been replaced with a walking boot although crutches are still a necessity.

“The doctor thinks the ankle bones have stabilized, and that’s why the hard cast was removed,” Howard said, noting that surgery, discussed as a possibility, may not be necessary.

“I’ll know in 10 days when I go back,” he added.

The walking boot and crutches, however, could be with Howard for up to three months. He said he plans to work as much as he can from home since office hours will be limited due to inability to drive.

“I’ve been taking a lot of ribbing from sheriffs around the state. They’ve said things like, ‘You’re 63-years-old and you’re running?’” he laughed.

“But this was just a freak thing,” he said. “Any one of a hundred different variables could have happened, and this would have been different.”