2012 Trooper of the Year

Lakeland Area Trooper Garners Trooper of the Year Award

The Florida Governor and Cabinet honored Sgt. Mary Godino Dec. 11, 2012, when they named her the Florida Highway Patrol’s 2012 Trooper of the Year.

While traveling to work Nov. 9, 2011, Godino noticed a stopped school bus, a cloud of dust and people waving their arms. At the scene, Godino determined a fertilizer truck had been unable to stop and had overturned onto its left side. She found the truck driver trapped inside his vehicle and crawled into the cab of the truck, along with a nurse who had stopped to help. She stopped his head from bleeding and held his head and neck to keep his airway open for approximately an hour until the fire department and the wrecker service were able to extricate the driver. Without Godino’s quick response and decisive actions, there could have been grave consequences.