By Jacqueline Koch
Chattanooga Times Free Press
TENNESSEE — Six-year-old Jaquez Mc-Kinze can’t move the left side of his body.
He can’t walk or talk or communicate beyond blinking his eyes once for “yes” and twice for “no.”
But when Chattanooga police Officer Josh Wright is around, Jaquez’s eyes widen and his lips erupt in a smile.
“He has a smile from ear to ear,” said Jaquez’s mom, Kaynesha Steward. “If you look at him, you would think nothing ever happened. He’s in very good spirits with the people we’ve been having around.”
Jaquez suffered severe brain trauma June 26 when he was hit by a vehicle while crossing North Willow Street. The accident left him with a broken leg, fractured collarbone, fractured pelvis, punctured lung and scars.
After Ms. Steward called 911, Officer Wright arrived first. His voice presumably was the last one the 6-year-old heard before he slipped into a coma.
The officer kept onlookers away and made sure no one moved Jaquez before paramedics arrived. He kept Ms. Steward calm en route to the hospital. And then he kept in touch, calling her every day and visiting Jaquez’s bedside every week.
Officer Wright talked to the boy, read him books and pinned badges to the hospital wall. And he promised that if Jaquez made it out of the coma, the boy could sit in his patrol car and activate the flashing emergency lights, Ms. Steward said.
When the boy emerged from his coma in mid-July, Officer Wright was one of the first people Ms. Steward notified.
And he made good on his word this week, allowing the boy to sit in his car and turn on the flashing lights after Jaquez returned to Chattanooga on Oct. 6 following months of physical therapy in Atlanta.
The boy now is home, and Officer Wright still calls nearly every day, Ms. Steward said. The officer also helps the family get food, clothing and anything else they need, she said.
“I know they see stuff like this every day, far more worse situations,” she said. “And just for him to cling to my son like that and keep in touch and talk every day, it was actually a surprise. But now, knowing the type of person (Officer Wright) is, it’s really not a surprise.”
She said Jaquez continues to improve, though on Wednesday he was suffering from a cold. Ms. Steward hopes he eventually will return to Orchard Knob Elementary School, where he would have been in the first grade this school year.
Neither Officer Wright nor his supervising lieutenant returned messages seeking comment Wednesday.
But Chattanooga Police Department Chief Freeman Cooper said good deeds such as Officer Wright’s, while often unnoticed, are not uncommon. Every day officers develop relationships with young people in the community and mentor them, he said, watch their sporting events, attend graduation ceremonies and parties, and look out for them.
“Our people don’t really go out looking for that attention, but it should be noticed when positive things happen,” Chief Cooper said. “What Officer Wright did, that will have some effect on this young man’s life simply because an officer did it, and we appreciate it. We can’t thank our people enough for the job they do not only in taking care of the city but in going beyond.”
ABOUT THE ACCIDENT
Six-year-old Jaquez McKinze was crossing North Willow Street with his cousin on June 26 when he was struck by a car. Jaquez’s mom and aunt watched the accident occur and called 911, and paramedics were on the scene within 10 minutes.
Copyright 2009 Chattanooga Publishing Company