SAN ANTONIO — As a six-year veteran of the force, you can say Officer Corey Hackenberg has made a difference in the City of Garden Ridge. Yet for Holly McKay, he's made all the difference in her life.
"He's just a genuine guy," said Holly McKay, a Garden Ridge police officer. "He'd back me up. I'd back him up and I trust him with my life."
The two work as officers at the Garden Ridge Police Department. The small city, just outside San Antonio, is symbolic of the department - tight knit.
"We might be small, but to that small community, he sure does mean something," McKay said.
That why August 8, 2021, is hard to talk about or even believe.
"He had some angels with him that night," she said.
Minutes after clocking out at the police station, Hackenberg was driving home on his motorcycle.
"He was headed towards I-35 and another vehicle turned out in front of him and there was no stopping. It was a pretty bad crash," said McKay.
She says the officer was hit along FM 3009 and Corridor Parkway. He was struck so severely, the accident almost killed him. After multiple surgeries, ten days in the ICU and weeks in a hospital bed, Hackenberg returned home. McKay says his road to recovery will likely be long and possibly expensive depending on what insurance doesn't pay for.
"That's why we want to help him and do this fundraiser for him so he doesn't have to worry about bills," she said.
The Citizens Patrol Academy is hosting a benefit on Thursday, December 2, at the Blue Bonnet Palace at 17630 Lookout Road in Selma. Money raised between 5 - 8 that night will go directly towards Hackenberg. This is in addition to money already raised on a GoFundMe page and First United Bank in Garden Ridge.
"We love him and we miss him. We just want him back out here with us and we'll do whatever we have to do to make it happen," said McKay.
For more information on the benefit, visit the Garden Ridge Police Department Facebook page.
