From Today's Salem News:
Cop has long road to recovery
By Jill Harmacinski
Staff writer
The Topsfield patrolman struck by a car Monday will likely spend two to three weeks in a Boston hospital before beginning a long recovery, his brother said yesterday.
Shawn Frost, 33, has a broken pelvis, broken right leg and major ligament damage to his right knee. Doctors used five staples to close a deep laceration on the back of his head, his twin brother, Scott, said yesterday.
"He's going to be out for a while, and he's got a long road ahead of him," he said.
An elderly man drove through a construction zone Monday morning and struck Shawn Frost while he was working a detail on Route 1 in Topsfield. The patrolman underwent surgery at Beverly Hospital Monday afternoon. Yesterday, he was transferred to Boston Medical Center, where he will undergo another operation, possibly as early as today.
Scott Frost said he was on his way to the gym Monday morning when he got a call about his brother's accident.
"It was the worst phone call I ever got," Scott said.
Ten minutes later, Scott stood in Beverly Hospital's emergency room, praying his brother was going to be OK.
"It was awful, awful," Scott said.
The Frost brothers grew up in Topsfield and after college both decided to pursue careers in law enforcement. Shawn is one of 10 full-time officers in Topsfield, and Scott is a patrolman in neighboring town of Danvers. Both officers are known among their colleagues as hard workers. They are among the highest-paid public employees in their respective towns.
So no one was surprised to see Shawn Frost standing out in the heavy rain Monday while a repair crew worked on the Ipswich River Bridge. The bridge is located south of the Topsfield Fairgrounds.
But at 11:30 a.m., Carlton Roffey, 88, of Danvers, was driving north on Route 1 when he drove over 200 feet of orange construction cones and struck Frost, according to police.
The impact of the crash threw the patrolman 25 feet into the air. Roffey, who police say was unaware he hit the officer, was finally stopped a mile away with help from a witness. Uninjured, Roffey was issued a summons for leaving the scene of an accident and failure to drive in marked lanes. And Trooper Michael Harvey asked the Registry of Motor Vehicles to immediately suspend his license.
Seconds after the accident Monday, Scott Frost said he started getting calls from fellow police officers. The 10 minutes it took him to get from his Beverly home to Beverly Hospital "was the longest 10 minutes of my life," he said.
Admitted to the intensive care unit, the injured officer was only allowed visits from family members when he was released from surgery Monday night. Nonetheless, more than 30 local police officers gathered at the hospital to support the injured patrolman and his family.
Scott described his brother's spirits as "pretty good, especially considering what he'd been through. ... It really could have been a lot worse."
Shawn is trying his best to joke with family members, even chiding his wife, Laura, about how she'll have to learn to mow the lawn this spring. Laura is a Boxford elementary school teacher.
Yesterday, at the Topsfield police station, the mood remained somber. Everybody went about their work, but there were still some tears shed from time to time.
"We're like a family," said Sgt. Richard Lebel, remarking on the small, close-knit department.
Topsfield Police Chief Daniel O'Shea echoed similar sentiments.
"We are working through it," he said. "There is still a lot of concern ... but the concern is mixed with hope and optimism."
Staff reporter Jill Harmacinski can be reached at (978) 338-2652 or by e-mail at
[email protected].
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