CLERMONT, Fla. — A Clermont police officer, with burns across 60 percent of his body following an off-duty accident on Super Bowl Sunday, is fighting for his life at ORMC.
Kris Kruse, 21, was at a bonfire with his girlfriend when a gas can exploded. He was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he was placed in the intensive care unit and heavily sedated.
A Facebook post from his father, fellow Clermont Officer Jack Kruse, asking for prayers was shared more than 22,000 times.
"You don't know how much your child is loved until something like this happens," Jack Kruse said.
Kris Kruse isn't allowed visitors, expect immediate family, because the risk of infection is high.
"(I) sat there last night and held his foot like someone would hold a hand. (I) hope he felt that, (it)
meant a lot to me," Jack Kruse said.
Jack Kruse broke both legs and is in a wheelchair after his parachute collapsed in a power glider accident last month, but is only focused on his son.
"Doctors have given him a (50) percent chance right now and that's tough as a parent to handle," Jack Kruse said.
Kruse's parents said he's in critical but stable condition and could spend two months in the ICU and up to a year in the hospital.