Injured Florida deputy honored as sheriff attempts damage control

INVERNESS, Fla. – There were hugs, tears and a standing ovation in the Citrus County Commission chambers Tuesday as a beloved deputy was honored a year after nearly losing his life on the job .

Lahera was hit by a teenage driver while directing traffic after a May 2023 graduation ceremony.

A year after the night that changed his life, the Citrus County Sheriff's Office school resource deputy remains hospitalized in long-term acute care.

At Tuesday's ceremony, the MP's family accepted a proclamation highlighting Lahera's “extraordinary resilience and dedication to recovery.”

“What started as an ordinary day ended up as a nightmare that we have yet to wake up from,” the MP’s wife, Michelle Lahera, told the crowd.

She attended the Citrus County Commissioners meeting to highlight the news that has shocked and disgusted people across the county.

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 worked with the department since 2009 would be dismissed from the department due to his prolonged convalescence.

“My husband was still lying in a hospital bed, my husband still wasn't breathing on his own, and my husband still hadn't opened his eyes and they were telling me they were separating from him,” said the wife of the deputy.

The latest letter to the family from Sheriff Mike Prendergast indicates a final decision could be made on Aug. 14, which has Lahera concerned for her husband's insurance and long-term well-being.

In her comments to the commission, she said she would like her husband to remain enrolled in the sheriff's office health insurance plan, even though he is separated from the department.

“For this to happen in the line of duty, through no fault of his own. And then things change so radically, so quickly. It just doesn't add up. And people need to know that,” the couple’s son, Nicholas Lahera, said in a previous interview.

On Tuesday, Sheriff Prendergast stood quietly in the back of the commission room as the Lahera family stood to read the proclamation and expressed their concerns. Even though they were only a few feet apart, neither the sheriff nor the family members greeted or hugged each other.

The sheriff attempted damage control during an interview with ABC Action News later that afternoon.

Prendergast claimed workers' compensation would cover all of Lahera's medical bills for life, although the congressman's wife strongly disputes that assertion.

The sheriff also said Lahera may be eligible for medical retirement and he was willing to explore those options and work with the family to find a solution. He said Lahera's wife could call him anytime.

“She has my phone number and she knows how to contact 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 in the hospital while he was in the trauma center for 43 straight days,” he said.

In a follow-up phone call Tuesday evening, Lahera's wife said a case manager who is overseeing her husband's workers' compensation claim said the program would only cover related medical expenses to the accident.

She said she would like further clarification from the sheriff's office on the status of her husband's health and life insurance.

“It’s not about recounting the past,” she said. “It’s about defending 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 benefit from the county's insurance policy, but was told it wasn't possible.