Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara is back at work, if only for a few hours, two weeks after he was rear-ended on Reef Road and had to be pulled from his cruiser.
“It was a pretty violent episode, the kind of accident you wouldn't expect to happen in that area of town,” said MacNamara.
The crash did a number on him. MacNamara has been recovering at home, but was itching to return to work, if only for a few hours a day.
“I did have some head trauma, so I think I have to gradually ease into it. The computer screen, and other issues, are going to, at some point, maybe create a long-term agony if I continue with it," said MacNamara. "So I'll step away, do things a little different for the next couple weeks than I normally do it.”
MacNamara said the outpouring of support he's received has been both heartwarming and humbling.
“I've never really been put in that position of victim of an accident in that way, so after the crash, having to sit there and kind of being a little out of it, but watching the response, watching the response of police, watching the response of firefighters, and the ambulance personnel, really gives you a different perspective on what it is that they're doing every single day,” said MacNamara.
Fairfield police are still investigating the crash with the help of state police. Lt. Jim Perez said the driver, who had her 7-month-old child in the backseat and did not hit the brakes, might have suffered a medical problem.
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“We thought originally that it might have been alcohol or drugs, but we know that's not the case. We thought it might have been texting. We're leaning now toward medical, although I can't go into further detail because the investigation is still ongoing,” Perez said.
