San Diego police Officer Zachary Martinez, who was seriously injured in the line of duty in last week's fiery Clairemont-area crash that killed a fellow officer and a teenager, has been released from the hospital, the city's police chief announced Tuesday.
"Today's a great day. If you'd asked me a week ago if we'd be out here saying that Officer Zach Martinez would be going home, I wouldn't have believed it. But that is the case," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said during Tuesday's news conference at Sharp Memorial Hospital.
Previous coverage:
Wahl said the first person who responded to Martinez the night of the crash was an EMT.
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"In his words, he thought he was dead. He said he tested for his pulse and was surprised when he found one," Wahl said. "From that moment, the care, the love and the support that has been surrounding Officer Martinez, and by the grace of God, we're very grateful that he's going home today."
The police chief said Martinez told him that he's grateful for the care at Sharp Memorial and for the prayers he had been receiving.
After Wahl had finished with the preliminaries, he brought Dr. Diane Wintz, the head of the trauma unit at Sharp Memorial, to the microphone.
"Officer Martinez arrived to our care at the most critical time of his life," Wintz said. "He had been involved in a massive trauma event, and our team was responsible for responding to him and taking care of his injuries in that moment."
At that moment, Wintz said, Martinez's injuries were extensive and included burns, a broken neck and multiple facial injuries.
"We were able to take care of him and get him back to a place where he can continue his recovery at home," Wintz said.
Later in the news conference, Wintz took a question regarding the extent of the officer's injuries.
"There was no paralysis [from the broken neck]," Wintz said, "and the burns were considered something that we could manage here at Sharp Memorial. We did bring in a specialist from the UCSD Burn Center and that ultimately Officer Martinez was transferred, because of the location of the burn injuries. So, in general, if there's a burn sustained to face or hands — visible, workable areas of the body — then those need a little bit more care and attention with additional expertise from burn experts, and we're very appreciative of having our colleagues at UCSD who can assist and provide support for that."
Wintz, responding to a query regarding the relatively rapid recovery made by Martinez, stressed that there was work ahead for the injured officer and that the timespan for recovery was frequently much longer than the period they were at the hospital: "They do the majority of their work at home."
"I think any time anyone is injured, it has a tremendous impact on their lives," Wintz said. "The role that we play: We hope that it will be short, it will lead to an expeditious recovery, but we know that patients leave the hospital and then they must maintain their motivation, sometimes upwards of a year, for a full and complete recovery."
According to Wahl, Martinez was discharged around 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday. He was surrounded by his family, fellow officers and nursing staff when he left the facility, video UC San Diego Health shared in an X post shows.
"He's very thankful to be alive. He's very thankful to have a path to recovery. Whether he'll get back to full duty it still remains to be seen. It's still too early. He's got a long road of recovery," Wahl said.
The fatal crash
Killed in the crash on Aug. 26 were Martinez's partner, Austin Machitar, and a teenage driver who was behind the wheel of the gray BMW that slammed into the SUV in which the officers were driving after allegedly fleeing an attempted traffic stop.
Martinez's father told NBC 7 last Wednesday that his son is a hero and dedicated his life to serving.
Martinez has helped to serve and protect San Diego for the past year and a half.
"He was born and raised to serve," San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said during a news conference last week. "He's an EMT. His heart is into helping people."
Martinez's road to the police force began in 2014. In high school, he joined the Lubbock Police Department Explorer Program in Texas.
Officer Brinnen Kent, Martinez's former instructor, described Martinez as a smart competitor who helped the explorers win leadership and other awards.
Because Martinez couldn't join the San Diego Police Department until he was 21, he joined the Navy's military police at 18, according to Kent.
Kent said the week before the crash, when they spoke, Martinez talked about how excited he was to be serving in San Diego.
Police say Machitar was a five-and-a-half-year veteran of the force who had a passion for training others. In fact, he trained Martinez.
Later last week, the San Diego Medical Examiner's Office identified the teen driver as 16-year-old Edgar Giovanny Oviedo. First responders attempted lifesaving measures while taking the teenager to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the medical examiner's office.
The San Diego Police Officers Association has started a donation campaign to benefit the families of the involved officers, with a goal of $250,000 to aid with funeral and medical costs.
According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring fallen law enforcement officers, at least 36 San Diego police officers have, since 1913, died in the line of duty, plus one K9 officer. While the majority of them were shot, 11 were killed in incidents involving a car or motorcycle. The last officer killed in the line of duty was Officer Jonathan "JD" DeGuzman in 2016.
Funeral and procession arrangements are still being planned for Machitar.
