It's been less than three months since a horrific New Year's Eve crash claimed the life of the wife of Atlanta Braves trainer Jeff Porter. Still, Porter is ready to thank the countless supporters he says have helped his family through the tragedy.
"It was amazing. It was beyond anything you could ever imagine, the amount of support we got," Porter told Channel 2 Action News in an interview Friday from spring training in Florida. Porter has been with the Braves organization since 1985 and the head trainer since 2003.
Porter's wife, Kathy, died when the family's SUV was struck by a Georgia State Trooper who had been headed to assist in a chase on I-20. The Porters, including their son and his friend, were headed to the Chick-fil-A Bowl at the time of the wreck.
That trooper, 1st Class Donald Crozier, was fired several days after the crash, his fourth since November 2008, according to his personnel file. The Fulton County District Attorney's Office told the AJC on Friday afternoon that the wreck remains under investigation.
“I don’t think you need to be in a tragedy like us to realize that he probably should not have been driving,” Porter told Channel 2.
COMING SUNDAY: AJC sports writer Steve Hummer speaks with Jeff Porter from the Braves spring training camp.
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