Support Pours In For Murrieta Police Officer Injured In Crash

MURRIETA, CA — Community support for a Murrieta police officer seriously injured in an Oct. 1 crash, involving a vehicle that led a chase, has been "overwhelming" for his family and his coworkers.

In a Tuesday update from the Murrieta Police Department, officials said Murrieta Police Officer Matt Guzzino remained hospitalized, "struggling to recover" from his injuries. "He has already undergone two surgeries, and some pretty severe internal injuries have forced doctors to sedate him to hopefully help with the healing process."

As the officer battles through his injuries, support is pouring in.

"The Murrieta PD family is of course looking after Officer Guzzino and his loved ones, but requests to help from the public have not stopped flowing in since the crash," the department reported. "Local businesses have stepped up, area news outlets have helped spread the word, countless private citizens continue wanting to help, and the family’s GoFundMe page has far exceeded expectations."

As of Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe page had raised nearly $34,000.

Guzzino's family posted an update Monday on the page, thanking the community for its generosity and giving an update on their loved one.

"Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Our family is so thankful for the overwhelming kindness everyone has shown us," Jamie Guzzino wrote. "Yesterday morning, Matt had his second surgery to repair his lower leg. He came out of surgery wonderfully, ate some lunch and even watched a little football in between sleeping.

"Unfortunately, his condition took an unexpected turn later in the day," the family update continued. "Due to the trauma of the impact, he has severe pulmonary contusions on his lungs which have affected his breathing and his blood oxygen levels have dropped significantly. Matt is currently sedated and receiving blood transfusions to help support blood and oxygen loss. We don't know how long he will be intubated but we are praying that this decision will help his body relax and heal since it’s been working so hard these past few days.

"Please continue to pray for him and our family. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Love, Jamie"

The GoFundMe page showed 414 people had donated to the family and 3,500 had shared the page as of Wednesday morning.

The Murrieta Police Department said the Guzzino family has been "stunned and overwhelmed by all of the kindness being shown to them," and asked that the department pass on the family's "gratitude and heartfelt appreciation" to everyone who has reached out.

"Wow," the department said, "the love and support shown by our community never ceases to amaze us."

Guzzino's injuries came just after 3 a.m. Oct. 1, when another Murrieta police officer attempted to pull over a BMW driver near Jefferson Avenue and Murrieta Hot Springs for a vehicle code violation. Instead of stopping, the motorist sped away northbound on Jefferson toward the Los Alamos Road intersection, according to Lt. Ron Driscoll of the Murrieta Police Department.

The BMW driver went through the intersection and plowed into another motorist driving a red Honda, according to Driscoll.

The crash impact sent the BMW into southbound Jefferson Avenue traffic, where it collided with another Murrieta Police Department vehicle driven by Guzzino, who was responding to the chase.

The patrol vehicle rolled over, and Guzzino had to be extricated from the wreckage and airlifted to the hospital, Driscoll said.

Two people in the Honda suffered minor to moderate injuries but were expected to survive.

The BMW driver sustained major injuries, and his passenger, Keshon Manning, 25, of Desert Hot Springs died from his injuries at 3:20 p.m. Oct. 1 at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar.

The crash remains under investigation.