An Arkansas State Police trooper who used his vehicle to stop a car being driven the wrong way on Interstate 40 near Alma was honored Thursday as Trooper of the Year for 2016.
Cpl. Roy Moomey, 42, of Van Buren almost lost his life in that head-on collision early on the morning of Aug. 8 in Crawford County.
He responded to a call reporting a westbound vehicle on Interstate 40 traveling at a high rate of speed in the eastbound traffic lanes.
Moomey maneuvered his patrol car into the lane of the oncoming vehicle and, in the final seconds before impact, prevented two vehicles and their occupants from being struck by the wrong-way driver, according to a news release from the state police.
Moomey said he doesn't remember the crash, but he viewed his dash-camera video and saw that he was herding a car and semi off the right side of the interstate just before the collision.
"I had my lights and siren on," he said. "I was trying to get them over because I knew that car was coming. I had my directionals on to tell them to pull over to the right. Then I saw the headlights. From that, I woke up in my car."
Matthew C. Choate, 24, of Fort Smith, who was driving a 2012 Ford the wrong direction, died in the collision with Moomey's patrol car.
The impact left Moomey with life-threatening injuries. He had broken ribs and broken bones in both feet, his right leg and his wrist. Both of his lungs collapsed after the crash, but emergency personnel quickly got him breathing normally again.
Moomey was hospitalized for weeks while undergoing multiple surgical procedures.
On Thursday, Moomey was also presented with the department's Lifesaving Award and Gold Shield.
The Gold Shield Award is presented to troopers or civilian staff who, under honorable conditions, suffer permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment of health, or extremely serious physical injury in the line of duty, according to the news release.
Moomey said his recovery is going well. He was out of a wheelchair and walking again before Christmas. Moomey said he is almost to the point where he can run. He hopes to return to work with the state police in August.
Moomey said he was just doing his job Aug. 8.
"You get that call, and you don't know what's coming," he said. "You never do. That's where I stop with the hero talk. I say, 'Hey every one of these guys answers calls like this every day. ... Every one of them signed up to do it, and they do it every day. These guys, they're heroes every day.'"
Moomey said he feels considerably better than he did last year, and he appreciates what he has in life.
"I feel like I'm back to being a normal guy ... back down to earth," he said. "A normal life. Enjoying my family. You look at your kids and your wife a little differently. Glad I'm still here and able to enjoy them and help them through their lives and be here for them."
Previously of Maumelle, Moomey is a graduate of Catholic High School in Little Rock and the University of Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business.
Moomey's father was a Little Rock police detective.
In 2009, Moomey was assigned to work the Highway Patrol Division for Troop H in Crawford County, where he was stationed at the time of the crash.
In May 2016, Moomey received a Lifesaving Award from the state police for pulling a man from a burning pickup Jan. 22, 2015. The vehicle had run off Interstate 49.
Metro on 06/09/2017