INVERNESS, Fla. — There were hugs, tears, and a standing ovation inside the Citrus County commission chambers Tuesday, as a beloved deputy was honored a year after he almost lost his life while on the job.
Lahera was hit by a teenage driver while directing traffic after a graduation ceremony in May 2023.
One year after the night that changed his life, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office school resource deputy is still hospitalized in long-term acute care.
During the Tuesday ceremony, the deputy’s family accepted a proclamation for Lahera’s “extraordinary resilience and dedication to recovery.”
“What started as a regular day ended in a nightmare from which we have yet to wake up,” the deputy’s wife, Michelle Lahera, told the crowd.
She attended the meeting of Citrus County commissioners to spotlight the news that has people across the county upset and disgusted.
As ABC Action News first reported last week, Lahera’s family members received a series of letters from the sheriff’s office last year informing them that the deputy who had been with the department since 2009 would be terminated from the department due to his prolonged recovery.
“My husband was still laying in a hospital bed, my husband was still not breathing on his own, and my husband still had not opened his eyes and they were telling me that they were separating from him,” the deputy’s wife said.
The latest letter to the family from Sheriff Mike Prendergast says a final decision could come on Aug. 14, which has Lahera worried about her husband’s insurance and long-term well-being.
In her comments to the commission, she said she would like her husband to remain on the sheriff’s office’s health insurance plan even if he’s separated from the department.
“For this to happen in the line of duty, through no fault of his own. And then things change so drastically — so quickly. It just does not fit right. And people need to know about it,” the couple’s son, Nicholas Lahera, said in a previous interview.
Tuesday, Sheriff Prendergast stood quietly in the back of the commission chambers as the Lahera family stood for the reading of the proclamation and voiced their concerns. Though they were just feet apart, neither the sheriff nor the family members greeted or embraced the other.
The sheriff attempted to do damage control in an interview with ABC Action News later in the afternoon.
Prendergast claimed Workmans Compensation would cover any of Lahera’s medical bills for life, though the deputy’s wife strongly disputes that assertion.
The sheriff also said Lahera might be eligible for medical retirement, and he’s ready to explore those options and work with the family toward a solution. He said Lahera’s wife can call him at any time.
“She’s got my phone number, and she knows how to get in touch with me,” he said.
The sheriff also defended the level of compassion he has shown since the incident that injured Deputy Lahera.
“I don’t know how much more compassionate you can be, because I was by Andy’s side at the hospital while he was in the trauma center for 43 days straight,” he said.
In a follow-up phone call Tuesday night, Lahera’s wife said a case manager who oversees her husband’s Workers Compensation claim said the program would only cover medical expenses related to the accident.
She said she would like further clarification from the sheriff’s office about the status of her husband’s health and life insurance.
“This isn’t about recounting the past,” she said. “It’s about advocating for Andy’s future.”
Meanwhile, County Commission Chair Holly Davis was asked if the commission could step in to help the injured deputy. Davis said she asked the county administrator if Lahera could be placed on the county’s insurance policy but was told that’s not possible.
