Community Rallies Together for Paralyzed Lacey Firefighter

Several charity events will be held to support a local man who was paralyzed after a car accident on Christmas Eve.

Daniel Inglis, 24, was leaving the Lincoln Tunnel when he got into a single-car accident and found himself in Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City. Born and raised in Lacey, Inglis is now considered a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down.

“We’re just trying to stay positive about his hopeful recovery,” Jess Inglis, Daniel’s sister said.

Jess described her brother as “very active.” Daniel is a Union City police officer, where he currently lives, and a volunteer firefighter in Lanoka Harbor.

“He’s always done good,” she said. “It’s just a tragedy. It couldn’t have happened to a better person.”

Daniel, a 2006 graduate of , always wanted to become a police officer, Jess said.

After high school, he went to Ocean County College for a short time before entering the police academy. He served as a police officer in Beach Haven and in Wildwood Crest and a security guard at the Borgata in Atlantic City, before Union City.

But Daniel is convinced he’ll go back to the Union City police department, Jess said.

“He wants to have use of his limbs,” she said. “He wants to go back to the police department even if it’s a desk job.”

Daniel had surgery on Friday, Dec. 30, to realign his spine and although doctors' prognosis was not necessarily hopeful, the family is still positive and is looking to send him to the Kesseler Institute for Rehabilitation.

“He’s getting stronger,” Jess said, not long after her father texted her to say he wants off the ventilator. “He’s being so strong and positive.”

Daniel currently cannot talk but his family can read his lips, she said. “He jokes and rolls his eyes.”

“He has a lot of goals and a lot of motivation,” she said.

Daniel owns and loves a ninja bike, Jess said. “We’re keeping it for his motivation.”

Since the accident, the Inglis family has gotten a tremendous amount of support from friends and the community.

“He’s very well liked,” Jess said. “I’m getting phone calls from grown men saying, 'That’s my boy.' "

The community has organized multiple fundraisers to support Daniel and the “long road ahead,” Jess said. “It makes you realize there are people that care,” she said.

At each of the following events, green ribbons will be sold for $1, and a green rubber bracelet will be sold for $5:

• The Forked River House, 121 S. Main St., will donate 20 percent of diners' bills from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Feb. 1 to Daniel.
• The Lanoka Harbor Fire Company, which four Inglis’ are members of, will hold a Psychic Fair from 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 10.
• A benefit with food, entertainment and a Chinese auction will be held on March 10 at the Forked River House. Admission is $20.
• There also an account open at TD Bank for Daniel. Make a check payable to the “Daniel Inglis Charity Fund” and stop at any TD Bank to donate. Checks also can be sent to the Inglis’ home at 708 Sinclair Ave. in Lanoka Harbor

Daniel became a member of Lanoka Harbor’s junior firefighter program at 16 years old, said Jack Conaty of the Lanoka Harbor Fire Department. He was given a merit after he assisted with a house fire in November 2006, removing a victim.

“He was always there to help out wherever needed,” Conaty said. “He was always dedicated to emergency services.”

Conaty saw Daniel on Tuesday. “He was his normal sarcastic self and he was excited to see people.”

The Lanoka Harbor Fire Company is in the process of setting up additional events, Conaty said.

"The entire Inglis family as a whole, if anybody ever needed anything, they would help out first without asking for anything in return," Conaty said. "Now it's our turn to help them out."

To follow Daniel’s progress, “like” the “Support for Daniel Inglis” Facebook page. The page currently has 699 followers.

Daniel’s family is giving daily updates while friends and family are using the page to send their support and encouragement.

Most recently, the family reported that Daniel got a peg placed in his stomach to assist with nutrition in the upcoming weeks.

“Another step in the right direction is one more step to a great recovery,” Cynthia Blowers-Mcclure said on the Facebook page. “Prayers everyday for Dan and the Inglis family.”