Veteran Mansfield police officer’s leg amputated in surgery after off-duty collision

Emerson Clarridge
·2 min read

An off-duty Mansfield police officer who was injured on Tuesday in a vehicle collision as he was on his way to work has had two surgeries, including a procedure in which one of his legs was amputated, his department said.

Randy Watson, a 26-year Mansfield police veteran who is assigned as the department’s lead range master, was steering his personal motorcycle at the time of the collision. Watson is 58 and lives in Alvarado.

Gustavo Pizana, 28, of Alvarado, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado south on Farm to Market 2738 and was behind a school bus just before the collision about 6:30 a.m., a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman said.

About a quarter-mile south of County Road 505, the pickup veered into the north lane of FM 2738 to pass the bus in a no-passing zone, the Texas DPS spokeswoman said. This pickup struck Watson’s Harley Davidson motorcycle and a Nissan SUV. The pickup slid off the road into a ditch and rolled.

The motorcycle also veered from the road to a ditch, the Texas DPS spokeswoman said.

Passersby applied a tourniquet to Watson’s leg. He was taken by helicopter to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

The driver of the SUV, Morgan Nickels, 27, and a passenger, a 1-year-old boy, were not injured, the Texas DPS spokeswoman said.

Pizana declined treatment at the scene. He was to be charged with disregarding a no-passing zone and passing with insufficient clearance, the Texas DPS spokeswoman said.

Watson has had two surgeries and expects others.

“Randy has a tough road ahead but through prayer, love and support from his family and friends he will return to work with the assistance of a prosthetic leg,” Mansfield police Chief Tracy Aaron wrote on Thursday. “Randy and his family will be faced with the loss of his off duty income as well as many unexpected expenses. Any help we can provide this well deserved family will provide stress relief and blessings.”

Backthebluehq.com partnered with Mansfield police to raise money for Watson.