Police officer who nearly died in explosion reunites with flight paramedic

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Clermont police officer who nearly died in a bonfire explosion was reunited with the flight paramedic.

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Channel 9 anchor Daralene Jones discovered that the helicopter that took him to the hospital also has a special connection to his life.

For Clermont Police Sgt. Kris Kruse, it was the night he was airlifted to Orlando Health as a trauma patient that was a big moment in his career.

A bonfire explosion left him burned over 70 percent of his body eight years ago.

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“There was a gas can, and the fire ignited, and it just sucked it right into the gas tank and exploded in my hands,” Kruse said. “I was on fire.”

An Air Care Paramedic landed with Kruse at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

They had just started their shift when the team received the call to take off to Lake County to help a burn victim.

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'Full circle': Police officer who nearly died in explosion reunites with flight paramedic with a special helicopter A Clermont police officer who nearly died in a bonfire explosion was reunited with the flight paramedic. (WFTV Staff/WFTV)

“What I was going to do for the next couple of minutes would determine a lot about how his recovery and how his outcome would be,” said Steve McKinney, an Orlando Health Air Care paramedic.

Kruse had to be intubated so that his airway didn’t collapse.

“This young man may not be able to ever talk to his parents again,” McKinney said. “And I might be the last one that he was able to talk to. And he said, ‘Tell my parents I love them.’”

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The helicopter ride that saved his life was a full-circle moment for Kruse.

“We realized that the tail number was familiar,” Kruse said. “And my dad did some digging, and he looked back and sure enough, I have a picture as a kid with the same helicopter.”

McKinney is retiring this year after 25 years, but Kruse recently surprised him, and they got one last ride together.