'Long road to recovery' for Sonoma Co. deputy hit by patrol car
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A body camera worn by Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas Dellia, shows him opening fire on shooting suspect Jose Cervantes in Santa Rosa, right after his patrol car was rammed by Cervantes’s car on March 4.
Dellia was trying to lay out spike strips to stop the suspect, wanted for injuring three other deputies while armed with an AK-47, according to Santa Rosa police.
Cervantes, who was accused of making threats at a nightclub while armed, died at the scene, likely from his injuries in the crash, according to the coroner’s report.
Video from inside Deputy James Blount’s patrol car, responding to the scene, shows the moment the cruiser hits Dellia, pinning him beneath the two-ton patrol car.
It appears to take responding deputies a moment to realize one of their own is under the car.
"Get Dellia! Get Dellia! Where’s he at? I don’t know. This is, this is a deputy we need help," responding officers were recorded saying while arriving at the scene.
The 31-year-old graveyard shift patrolman who’s only been with the department for 10 months, now has a traumatic brain injury and severe burns on his back from the muffler of the patrol car, according to Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff’s Association President Cody Ebert.
"Deputy Dellia is an incredibly strong person," Ebert told KTVU.
Ebert has already visited Dellia in the hospital a few times, where he has undergone surgery on his back for the burns.
"Daily, he’s going through physical and speech rehabilitation therapy sessions," Ebert said. "We really don’t know with a traumatic brain injury what his end condition is going to be."
Ebert said Dellia has made remarkable progress and has been able to walk short distances with help.
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And it's help, that the deputy sheriff’s association is turning to the public for, no matter what lies ahead, with a goal of raising $150,000.
For example, they may need to install a ramp for a wheelchair at his home while he recovers.
"We just want to make sure the family doesn’t have to worry about expenses at all and can really focus on his health," Francisco Wonnberger, Treasurer of the Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff’s Association told KTVU. "Strongly hope that he makes a full recovery and makes it back to work."
The new dad who shares a baby boy with his fiancé is in good spirits, according to Ebert, even living up to his reputation as a jokester.
"He’s joked around a little about trying to escape the hospital," Ebert said.
The couple is set to marry in June, but his coworkers fear his injuries may force the wedding to be pushed back— injuries that his teammates consider to be their biggest fear.
There are two fundraisers to support Deputy Delia.
One is through the Peace Officers Research Association of California, and the other is through Patriot Provisions Co., where graphic t-shirts that read #delliastrong can be purchased.
Proceeds will go towards Dellia’s rehabilitation from this life-threatening situation.