Saying thank you after 11 years of gratitude

By Bryan McKenzie

Published: June 8, 2008

The handwriting is shaky around the edges, but clear and to the point.

After 11 years, Wilbert Trusgo Farrar is still grateful for the police officer and rescue squad personnel that saved his life.

“May 25 was the anniversary of my sickness and quite a few people don’t know where I am and how I’m doing,” Mr. Farrar wrote in the thank you note. “I want to say thanks.”

Mr. Farrar, now 81 and living in Endicott, Md., sends thanks to former Charlottesville Police Officer Matthew Berryman, who pulled the man over after Mr. Farrar ran a stop sign.

Attempts to track down Officer Berryman to deliver the thank you were unsuccessful: The officer has apparently moved on in his career. Mr. Farrar has also moved on. He now lives in an apartment complex for seniors.

Driving headaches

Still, the story is a good one. It begins with Mr. Farrar on his way home from visiting a friend in a nursing home.

“I was driving down Main Street and I had such a pain in my head,” he recalled in a phone call from his Maryland home. “It was just awful.”

The headache worsened as he drove home. Finally, as he turned onto Eighth Street from West Main Street, the pain became nearly unbearable. That’s when he decided to blow the stop sign and get to his Page Street digs a bit sooner.

“My head felt like it was busting open,” Mr. Farrar said. “It was something else. The officer had seen me run the stop sign and he pulled in behind me. I told him that my head hurt bad and that I was going into the house to get something for it. I didn’t make it much past the hallway.”

When the officer knocked on the door to deliver the ticket, he discovered Mr. Farrar.

“He saw that I was having trouble and he stayed with me and called for the ambulance,” Mr. Farrar recalled. “He helped me lay down on the floor. After that, I don’t remember anything, but I know he stayed with me.”

Doctors later told Mr. Farrar he’d suffered an aneurysm and a minor stroke.

Right past the sign

Mr. Farrar spent the weekend in the hospital, but officials passed on the word to Mr. Farrar and police administration that the stroke would have been worse — possibly fatal — if Officer Berryman had not been there when Mr. Farrar ran the stop sign.

Former police chief John M. Wolford commended the officer for his effort and quick thinking. Better yet, Officer Berryman tore up the ticket.

Mr. Farrar, in the meantime, recovered. He now lives near his children and drives to the grocery store and church, although he’s considering giving it up.

“I’m doing fine and I really appreciate what he did,” Mr. Farrar said. “I just wanted to say thank you, again. He did a great thing for me.”