A crash left him critically injured. Thursday, Modesto officer uses his pitching arm

Juan Arroyo doesn't remember the crash that left him with critical injuries, including a compound fracture, broken bones, a bruised lung and a skull fracture.

What the Modesto Police officer does remember, when he started coming around about a week after the Jan. 16 crash, is the support he got from the community — locally and nationally. He received cards and letters from children he and his twin brother, Luis, also an officer, visited at school.

"I got letters from people in Florida," he said. A Modesto group painted rocks for him and sent them. "That was pretty cool."

With tensions in some communities running high between law enforcement and residents, he said, the outpouring was particularly meaningful. "It's easy to lose focus of all the support we do have," he said. "It was impressive, and touching."

This week, Arroyo, 28, will get the coolest support yet, when he is honored at the Modesto Nuts' home opener baseball game on Thursday night.

He's come a long way since the crash, which occurred during the early morning hours of a Tuesday. Arroyo responded to help the California Highway Patrol, which was in pursuit of a Toyota Tundra that had been driving in the wrong direction on Highway 99. Arroyo was heading to lay down spike strips when the truck hit his patrol car.

The driver of the truck, Nazario Castillo, 25, faces several charges, including driving under the influence causing injury and assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held in Stanislaus County Jail on $350,000 bail and is set to return to court for a pretrial hearing April 18.

Arroyo spent two weeks in the hospital, followed by another month in a rehabilitation facility. Along with the rest of his injuries, he suffered a fractured jaw, which required his mouth to be wired shut for six weeks.

That was a tough run in itself for the food-obsessed Arroyo, who celebrated his first real food with an ill-considered burrito bowl. "I regretted it that night," he said.

Arroyo, who grew up in south Modesto, is a former employee of the Nuts. He was a cook in the concession stand in 2006 and 2007. "I was decent," he said of his chef skills. "It's pretty easy to warm up a pizza."

Over the years, Arroyo would stop by and keep in touch with people he knew in the Nuts organization, including now executive vice president Mike Gorrasi. Thursday's event was Gorassi's idea. He approached Luis Arroyo and asked if he thought his brother would be willing to go along with the idea.

Not only will Juan Arroyo throw out the ceremonial first pitch at John Thurman field, but the team has named an award after him, to be given annually to the player who shows "grit, determination, perseverance and dedication to the Modesto community," the team said in a press release.

"Even as a teenager, (Arroyo) showed the traits that would help him reach his goal of working in law enforcement," Gorrasi said in the release. "Juan was a great employee who was well-liked by his peers and supervisors. I was excited when he joined the Modesto Police Department five years ago and was heartbroken when I heard of his injuries. In the three months since his injuries, he has maintained the same positive demeanor and shown the perseverance and grit to be able to join us on Opening Night."

Arroyo said he and his therapist have been working on his throw and he is pretty sure he can make it without bouncing.

"My brother has been giving me a hard time," he said. "He's just jealous."

Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with pre-game festivities set for 6:25 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.modestonuts.com or by calling 209-572-HITS (4487).

After Thursday's game, Arroyo will get back to the hard work of rehabilitation and therapy. Doctors have told him they expect him to make a full recovery, though it will take time.

Right now, Arroyo said, he is aiming to return to work in November or December. And he can't wait.

"It sucks," he said. "My brother is out there and I hear all the stories — all the fun he's having and I'm just home watching 'Cops'."

This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 4:07 PM with the headline "A crash left him critically injured. Thursday, Modesto officer uses his pitching arm."