CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — Citrus County Deputy Andy Lahera is once again fighting for his life, nearly two and a half years after a devastating line-of-duty injury.
Deputy Lahera was critically injured on the night of May 23, 2023, while directing traffic at the intersection of Saunders Way and South Lecanto Highway following Lecanto High School's graduation ceremonies.
WATCH: Family asks for prayer as injured Citrus County deputy battles medical setback
At approximately 9:05 p.m., a 19-year-old driver struck Lahera after failing to see him on the road, despite Lahera wearing a reflective vest. On-scene deputies and other first responders quickly performed life-saving measures, and a medical helicopter transported him to a trauma center.
Ever since then, his recovery has been slow but steady. Recently, he began talking again and even moving the right side of his body after years of paralysis.
But weeks ago, he was rushed back into the ICU with what his wife Michelle described as “the worst pneumonia I’ve ever seen.”
“When I tell you severe, it had filled up his lungs quite a bit,” she said. “They did have to intubate him.”
Doctors prescribed Andy a powerful fourth-tier antibiotic, and Michelle said he finally appears to be turning a corner.
“It looks like we’re kind of on the other side of it, hopefully,” she said.
Still, the fight is far from over.
“I don’t know how he’s doing this. But he’s doing it,” Michelle said. “And he’s proving to us every day that he wants to continue doing it.”
Michelle believes Andy’s strength comes not only from his own determination but also from the love and prayers of the community.
“I definitely know it’s working, because if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t be here two years later,” she said.
Now, she is asking for even more prayers as Andy continues to battle pneumonia in the ICU.
“I need, right now, specific prayers that the pneumonia leave his body so that he can have a clear set of lungs,” Michelle said.
She hopes the community’s prayers will help carry him through this latest fight.
Months ago, a bill known as the “Andy Lahera Act” became law. The measure extends benefits to law enforcement officers catastrophically injured while performing duties such as directing traffic.
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