By Tanya Eiserer
Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — Eugene Knies, a McKinney resident who donated the $7,500 to pay for the air ambulance to bring Officer Alex Garcia home, received the Honorary 2008 Great First Responder Award on behalf of CareFlite and the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council.
James C. Swartz, (right) President and CEO of CareFlite, presented the award to Knies (left) at his car dealership in Bonham on Tuesday.
He was named honorary first responder for his having gone “above and beyond the call of duty in providing the funds necessary to bring Dallas Police Officer Alex Garcia home from Denver and for putting service to others above self and making our communities better places to live,” according to a release from CareFlite.
Garcia, 22, had been at Swedish Medical Center in Denver since July 8, when he became severely dehydrated at a Police Explorers conference and ended up in the intensive care unit with blood clots. He underwent three surgical procedures to remove the clots.
Knies paid for Monday’s flight after the city’s insurance carrier, United Healthcare, declined to cover the cost. They said his benefit plan didn’t cover the flight.
Copyright 2009 Dallas Morning News