By Brian Callaway, PhillyBurbs
He still has a series of severe-looking pins attached to his left leg, courtesy of the compound fracture he suffered.
And he’s undergoing continuing therapy to recover from what he calls “considerable” brain damage.
But Hilltown police Officer James Kane, suffering the effects of being hit by a drunken driver earlier this year, still found something to be grateful for Saturday.
Flanked by family members and Santa Claus, he accepted donations of more than $4,400 raised by people he’s never met, but who’ve heard of his plight and felt the need to help.
“I’ve been in this area for about 25 years,” Kane said after the donations were presented. “This is why.”
Paul and Bonnie Unruh, owners of Nannys Family Store, organized the fund-raiser, selling raffle tickets for donated prizes and collecting money in a pickle jar placed on the store’s counter.
The Unruhs hold such fund-raisers each year to benefit various charities, and decided to dedicate this year’s effort to Kane after reading about his accident.
“It’s just the kind of thing that you don’t like to see,” Paul Unruh said.
Kane and Telford police Officer Daniel Fox were standing on the side of East Church Road on a traffic stop Aug. 20 when a car driven by Daulton James of Quakertown hit them. Fox, suffered only minor injuries.
But Kane was thrown onto the hood of the car and into a windshield, suffering severe head injuries and leg fractures. He spent three months in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, and is still receiving therapy since his release.
James was sentenced to 21/2 to 5 years in state prison, plus five years of probation and community service after pleading guilty this month to all charges related to the accident.
The Unruhs soon began raising money, setting a goal of $2,000. They were more than halfway toward that last month when someone stole the pickle jar they were accepting donations in - it had about $150 at the time.
Bonnie Unruh said when news of the theft got out, the fund-raiser became even more successful.
“Sometimes God works in mysterious ways,” she said.
Many area residents were so angered at the theft that they donated even more, she said, and others got involved in different ways. Souderton’s 83-year-old mayor, Charles Allebach, raised money by roller-skating at a local rink.
Saturday, the Unruhs and George Di Domizio of the Tylersport Crime Alert Committee presented the donations to Kane at a brief ceremony attended by a number of area officers and residents, and included both the raffling off of prizes and a visit by Santa Claus.