Deputy Sheriff Dan Hodess was off duty and on his way to work on April 5, 1998, when he spotted a stranded motorist on I-95 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He could have passed her by, but chose to pull his cruiser over to help. Moments later, another car hit him, pinning him between the two vehicles, and the 61-mph impact instantly cost him both legs. In that moment, Hodess went from Good Samaritan to a double amputee whose life was saved only by emergency help from passing medical personnel also on their way to work that morning.

The months following the accident were ones of therapy and adjustment to life with two prosthetic legs. With his spirit of never giving in, Hodess has fought to live a normal life. Now, with a scholarship from Able Flight, he will take on another challenge, that of fulfilling his long-held ambition of becoming a pilot.

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