Gainesville Police Officer Critically Injured

Gainesville Police Officer Critically Injured During Gator Fan Celebration

POSTED: 6:03 am EDT April 3, 2007
UPDATED: 9:54 am EDT April 3, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A Gainesville police lieutenant was critically injured after being hit by a pickup while trying to clear the streets amid the celebrations of the Florida Gators' win against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA title game early Tuesday.

Police said Lt. Corey Dahlem was opening the road at University Avenue and NW 17th Street at about 2:30 a.m. when he was hit by a Toyota pickup. Police said the vehicle struck Dahlem and continued down the road.

"(Dahlem) is in very, very serious condition," Gainesville Lt. Keith Kameg said. "This is something that is a tragedy for tonight. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family."

The driver of the truck was stopped about three blocks away and was taken into custody.

Witnesses said the driver was going about 70 mph and did not stop even after he hit several cars and then the officer.

"The car was coming past way too fast and it hit the other car and it sounds like he was next to it," witness John Stephenson said.
Police said the man appeared to be driving drunk, Local 6 reported.

Dahlem was rushed to Shands Hospital at UF where he is listed in critical condition.

He is a 22-year veteran of the police department, Local 6 reported.

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Florida Highway Patrol identified the driver of the truck as Austin John Wright, 21, of Atlantic Beach. He gave two breath tests that registered his blood alcohol level at 0.227 percent and 0.214 percent, nearly three times the legal driving limit, FHP spokesman Mike Burroughs said.

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My thoughts and prayers to his family and department

Best hopes for a full recovery.

thoughts and prayers enroute for a fast recovery

The officer, and his family are in our prayers!

I thought this was a nice article...from the campus paper no less.

http://www.alligator.org/pt2/070404eddy1.php

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Party's over

When the revelry goes wrong
Winning national championships has almost become routine for us. You know the sequence of events: We all cheer for our team - football or basketball, take your pick - and once we've slaughtered our opponent - usually Ohio State - several thousand of us stream onto University Avenue in celebration.

The Gainesville Police Department did a great job of preparing for these swarms of revelers. And we especially appreciate how lenient the police were about many rules that are usually strictly enforced. Open container and public decency laws come to mind - who doesn't love to celebrate with a little drunken streaking?

Hell, cops are people too. They wanted us to have a good time and enjoy our victory. Their main duties - crowd control, fire prevention, keeping us out of trees - were only done to protect us. They could have been real jerks to the mob of ecstatic fans, but they weren't.

So when we learned that GPD Lt. Corey Dahlem was struck by a drunken driver early Wednesday morning, it really pissed us off. When we learned the driver tried to flee the scene, we got even madder. Dahlem is in critical condition with life-threatening injuries at Shands.

But we got maddest of all when we learned that the man police charged with the crime took breath tests yielding blood alcohol levels of 0.227 and 0.214, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08. There is never an excuse for drunken driving. Ever. We're infuriated that this man got behind the wheel and struck a 22-year veteran of GPD, who was only working to keep celebrators like Wright safe.

Most of the time, our celebrations have been relatively safe. It's unfortunate that one person's bad judgment ruined the otherwise praiseworthy effort of most students to responsibly celebrate. With all the practice we've had in the last year, shouldn't we be better than this?

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Dumb A@s We Won I Have A Good Idea Let's Start A Riot! This Is Sad When Your Team Win And Then You Riot. God Help Us.

The officer did not survive his injuries

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A police officer who was struck by a car after the Florida Gators won the NCAA championship died Wednesday, authorities said.

Lt. Corey Dahlem, a 22-year veteran, was struck by a black Toyota as police were clearing the streets at the University of Florida early Tuesday after the Gators' win against Ohio State, authorities said.

Dahlem died Wednesday just before 3 p.m., hospital officials said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the driver, Austin John Wright, 21, of Atlantic Beach, had a blood-alcohol level almost three times the legal limit. He is accused of running two motorcycle officers off the road. The officers were not injured.

Wright remained in jail Wednesday on $500,000 bail.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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Originally Posted by PDawg

The officer did not survive his injuries

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A police officer who was struck by a car after the Florida Gators won the NCAA championship died Wednesday, authorities said.

Lt. Corey Dahlem, a 22-year veteran, was struck by a black Toyota as police were clearing the streets at the University of Florida early Tuesday after the Gators' win against Ohio State, authorities said.

Dahlem died Wednesday just before 3 p.m., hospital officials said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the driver, Austin John Wright, 21, of Atlantic Beach, had a blood-alcohol level almost three times the legal limit. He is accused of running two motorcycle officers off the road. The officers were not injured.

Wright remained in jail Wednesday on $500,000 bail.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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I started reading this thread and was going to add my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery as well and then I find out he didn't survive. Makes me sick. And angry.

I hope the driver is punished to the ends of the earth even though that won't help the officer or his family. I'm glad the other two officers weren't injured though. My thoughts and prayers to the family and the department.

I hope they ammend the charges that he is under to include a form of murder.


RIP my Brother. Thoughts and prayers to the family and the Dept.

Driver could face 30 years under law

BY LISE FISHER
Sun staff writer
April 05. 2007 6:01AM

A man accused of driving drunk and fatally injuring a Gainesville Police lieutenant Tuesday morning in the aftermath of the national championship celebration could be prosecuted under a law passed following the death of another GPD officer in 2001.

Attorneys with the State Attorney's Office are reviewing whether Austin J. Wright, accused of DUI manslaughter in connection with Gainesville Police Lt. Corey Dahlem's death, could be prosecuted under a law known as the Scott Baird Act.

Gainesville Police Officer Scott Baird, 23, died in 2001 after he was struck by a vehicle while trying to remove a batting cage that had been dragged from a field at Gainesville High School onto NW 16th Terrace. Baird had been with the department two years when he was killed.

The year following Baird's death, Florida legislators passed a law that makes manslaughter of a law enforcement officer punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison rather than 15 years.

Prosecutors plan to review crash investigation reports and other records before determining if Wright will be charged under the Scott Baird Act, said State Attorney's Office spokesman Spencer Mann.

Wright, listed by troopers as an Atlantic Beach resident, was being held at the Alachua County jail late Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, Wright had made his first court appearance, at which a $500,000 bond was set for his release, said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Mike Burroughs.

After the crash, Wright was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence with serious bodily injury to another and failure to stop or remain at an accident involving injury, Burroughs said. But, after Dahlem's death Wednesday afternoon, the charge was upgraded to DUI manslaughter aggravated by leaving the scene of a traffic crash involving death. Wright also was cited for careless driving and violation of a traffic control device.

Wright's driving record shows he had received tickets for speeding.

He was cited for speeding in Hernando and Duval counties last year, a report from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles showed.

The name of an attorney representing Wright was not immediately available Wednesday.

I am so sad to hear he died....
thoughts and prayers to all that knew him