Officer Chad Lishness is lucky to be laughing again after he nearly lost his life while on patrol in May of this year.
"The last thing I remember is probably the guy turning the wheel into me," he said.
Lishness was struck by 18-year-old Joshua Baldrige of Mount Vernon as he tried to speed away from police who were pursuing him after he was seen breaking into businesses.
Prior to the crash, Lishness was deploying a spiked strip on the ground to puncture the suspect's tires.
"My left side of my arm went into the windshield my head hit the top of windshield," he said.
He believes the driver purposefully ran into him to avoid hitting the spiked strip.
"The moment I saw him fly through the air and hit the ground I thought he was dead," said his partner, Natie Miray.
Miray witnessed the crash while sitting in the police cruiser.
"I got right down next to him. I kind of yelled to get his attention and saw his eyes moving," Miray said
Despite being thrown nearly 60 feet during the crash, Lishness didn't break a bone. He credits his bullet proof vest for preventing any internal injuries.
"It pretty much held me together," he said
Despite some bumps and bruises, Officer Lishness returned to patrol a month after he was struck.
And for his valor that day, his the Danville Police Chief awarded him the Purple Heart. The award is given to an officer injured or killed in the line of duty.
"It means a lot," Lishness said.
It means even more, he says, to accept the award while he's alive.
"I'm lucky to be alive," he said.
Joshua Baldridge will find out next month how long he'll spend in prison. He pleaded guilty to felony assault, among other charges.
In addition to prison time, the prosecutor is also requesting that his license be suspended for 10 years.
Officer Struck By Suspect Receives Purple Heart
An officer struck by a fleeing suspect speaks out about his ordeal for the first time. Get the story.