A paralyzed DeKalb firefighter recovering from injuries sustained in a head-on collision in 2023 has made progress towards independence in the form of a specially equipped Toyota Sienna XLE van.
Capt. David McBrayer was driving home from his shift on June 11, 2023 when a vehicle driven by Axel Gutierrez-Rameriz, which was clocked at almost 100 miles per hour, crossed into oncoming traffic and hit McBrayer head on.
Gutierrez-Rameriz was charged with failure to maintain a lane, speeding, reckless driving, and causing serious injuring with a vehicle.
The impact of the collision, which occurred on Centerville Rosebud Road in Snellville around 10 a.m., caused the firefighter’s vehicle to flip over, careen into a ditch and hit a power pole, resulting in a serious spinal injury. McBrayer is now paralyzed from the chest down, but has upper body mobility.
He spent three months rehabbing at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, and has undergone surgeries to help regain his fine motor skills. While recovering, McBrayer had as his ultimate goal to return to work.
On Jan. 16, that aspiration made significant strides, when members of the Jim and Billie Ellis Family Foundation presented McBrayer with the custom-fitted van valued at more than $100,000.
“Receiving this van is probably the biggest step toward returning to work and having some independence,” McBrayer said. “There aren’t adequate words to thank everyone.”
The project came to fruition thanks to a chance meeting of two strangers.
The two men behind the effort, retired firefighter Chris Mruk and Brookhaven resident Ronnie Mayer met at an awards ceremony, and decided to use their contacts to help McBrayer.
“We met and I said to Ronnie, ‘You say you have the juice, let’s see how much juice you have,’” Mruk said. “It took less than six months to get it done.”
The pair reached out to the foundation’s Kristi Ellis Cohron, and she green-lighted the donation. “We sat down to meet, and she said, ‘Pick a color,’” Mruk said. “And it was a done deal.”
In an emotional ceremony on Jan. 16, DeKalb Fire personnel, including Chief Darnell Fullum, community members and friends gathered at Mobility Works on DeKalb Technology Parkway to hand McBrayer the keys to the van.
His parents Allen and Frances said they are thrilled with this latest development in their son’s journey.
“This is life changing for him so that he can get back to independence,” Allen said.
Speakers, including Cohron, remarked on the McBrayer family’s deep faith and determination in the recovery process for the 15-year veteran.
“David has a great faith and I feel blessed to have met him,” Cohron said. “This took a village to make happen.”
Frances said her son publicly forgave Gutierrez-Rameriz while giving a victim impact statement at the 20-year-old’s recent sentencing hearing.
“David turned to Axel and said, ‘I am a Christian and I forgive you,’” Frances said. “We really believe that Axel was a good kid who made a bad decision, but there were terrible implications on both sides.”
