NYPD Det. Steven McDonald Had A Special Holmdel Connection

HOLMDEL, NJ - Det. Steven McDonald, the heroic NYPD officer who was paralyzed after a 1986 shooting in Central Park, and died Tuesday, had a very special, little-known connection to Holmdel: Det. McDonald was the uncle to Timmy McDonnell, a popular Holmdel high school football player who was brain injured when he was hit by a drunk driver.

Det. McDonald became an NYPD hero when he returned to duty after barely surviving a 1986 shooting in Central Park. He had been on the force for less than two years that day when he was shot by a 15-year-old suspected bicycle thief in Central Park. McDonald survived, but was a quadriplegic, confined to a wheelchair and who could breathe only with assistance. He died Tuesday at the age of 59, after he went into cardiac arrest last Friday and his permanent respirator respirator became clogged with mucus.

Steven McDonald is the brother of Clare McDonnell (née McDonald), her husband, Tim McDonnell, told Patch.

"He has a real connection to Holmdel. He has been speaking at St Catherine's to the kids for over 10 years and also at St. John Vianney," said the elder McDonnell Tuesday night in an email. "He traveled from Long Island twice a day after Timmy's accident to lead the kids in prayer."

Before Timmy was hit by the car, Det. McDonald could also been seen at many Holmdel football and basketball games, so he could watch his nephews, Timmy, and his brother Matt play.

"He is a true American hero," McDonnell said. "The funeral is at St. Patrick's Cathedral. He had a huge impact on the people of this area as well as across the world."

After several days on life support, Det. McDonald was declared dead at 1 p.m. Tuesday at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island.

It's taken his nephew, Timmy, years to recover from the night he was hit by a drunk driver while crossing the street as a 20-year-old college student at Rutgers University. The traumatic brain damage Timmy suffered that night meant he had to learn how to walk and talk all over again. He's taking classes at Brookdale Community College and his dream is to return to Rutgers one day and complete his college degree, his father says. Then he wants to return to Holmdel and work as an elementary school teacher.

The McDonnell family had a lot of input in the sentencing of the man who hit him, an two-tour Iraq war veteran who said he would seek help for alcohol addiction after the accident.

“Six months in jail is not easy and we hope it sends a message that you have to pay for your mistakes, but it doesn’t have to ruin another life,” McDonnell told Patch at the time. “It wouldn’t help anyone to put the guy in jail for five years. It won’t make Timmy any better.”

Past Patch coverage:

Somerset Man Who Hit Holmdel's Tim McDonnell in DWI Sentenced

Holmdel Rallying Around Family of Rutgers Student Still Hospitalized

Lead photo via the Sergeants Benevolent Association/Second photo provided to Patch by the McDonnell family