AKRON, Ohio — A Cleveland police detective who was critically injured in a deadly Utah paragliding accident last month returned home to Northeast Ohio on Thursday.
Ashley Schut, 30, was taken to Akron Fulton International Airport via air ambulance from Jet ICU, which is providing the normally $50,000 service for free. She is expected to land at 1:30 p.m. along with her husband, Gabe.
Ashley and Gabe Schut were both in Draper, Utah, on Oct. 17 when she went paragliding with 44-year-old pilot Josh Ellison. The pair collided with a hang glider and were knocked out of the sky, killing Ellison and leaving Ashley on the verge of being paralyzed. The hang glider pilot was also badly hurt.
Since the accident, a Help a Hero fundraiser has raised more than $23,000 for Schut's care. Doctors in the Salt Lake City area were able to reverse her paralysis with spinal cord surgery, and the Cleveland Division of Police says she also underwent a procedure for a broken pelvis.
"(The medical staff) had said that if she hadn't gotten there as soon as she did, and they were able to do that immediate surgery, that she would've been in a very different place as far as her mobility," Gabe Schut said Thursday.
Ashley Schut has been a member of Cleveland's police department for five years and is currently assigned to the Violent Crime Reduction Unit in the fourth district. While she still faces "a long, long road to recovery," Sergeant Wilfredo Diaz says the rest of the division have been encouraged by the support they and Schut have received from the community.
"Hopefully we can bring her back soon and get her back to doing what she loves, which is serving the community," Diaz told 3News last month. "The ultimate plan, the ultimate hope, is to bring her back home, fully recovered."
That plan came to life on Thursday, when Schut's family, friends, and colleagues gathered on the runway to greet her. And, after weeks of being apart, Schut was reunited with her beloved dog, Kenzie.
Gabe told us they are deeply touched by all the love send their way.
"Feels surreal to be home. We're extremely grateful," he said. "Everyone who's been praying for us ... just made it possible to get back home. We were taken care of in Utah very well, but I think there's really no place like home to be back with friends and family."
The accident has brought the couple closer than ever.
"We have a bond now. I think after going through something like this, it deepens your relationship in a way that really nothing else can," Gabe explained. "I think that's the biggest blessing that I can take away from it, that she's here, she has a path to recovery, and I think that we'll just never forget what this has meant for both of us."
While there's no official timeframe, Gabe tells us Ashley is expected to make a full recovery, and she can't wait to get back to doing what she loves: Serving the community as a Cleveland police officer.