Fallen Officer Helps Injured Officer

Organ, tissue donations ensure Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada's legacy lives on

A fallen Dallas police officer has breathed new life into the law enforcement career of a Tulsa police officer.

Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada died in a motorcycle crash while escorting Hillary Clinton during a North Texas campaign visit just more than a year ago.

After the crash, Lozada's family decided to donate his tissue and organs. In October, doctors reconstructed Officer Ron Neal's knee with the Achilles tendon from Lozada.

"I want to say thank you for making the decision to donate part of his body," Neal told Lozada’s widow and four children at a dedication ceremony Monday.

"It provides comfort that Victor is still helping," said Lozada's widow, Theresa. "That is what he would want."

She said she had a particularly hard time during the Christmas holidays and prayed for her husband to send her a sign.

"The next morning I got a call from Donor Services," Theresa Lozada said. "They told me one of the tissue recipients wanted to meet me, and he was a police officer."

She and Neal met for the first time at Dallas Police headquarters during the ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of her husband's death.

"I feel like I know him," Neal told a crowd of Dallas officers.

So far, 18 people who have received various tissues and organs from Lozada. His family said it's a way for his legacy to live on.

"Even though my father passed, he is still contributing to our community," said his son, Victor Lozada Jr.

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