LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV)- In 2013, Conway Officer Will McGary, was hit and killed by a driver while working a traffic accident.
“I have been an officer for 20 years and I personally have never dealt with it. It was always other agencies but never our own,” Lt. Hodges with the Conway Police Department said.
McGary was on Lt. Hodges shift the night he was killed.
“He was with us for 18 months and in that time he made a large impact on the department and the city of Conway; he was an outstanding young officer,” Hodges said.
Hodges said after the accident, officers, friends and family of McGary's banded together to create the Will McGary Foundation.
This year, the Foundation is putting on its second annual tribute night at the I-30 speedway in Little Rock.
Board member of the Will McGary Foundation, Chris Mitchell, said the Foundation not only remembers the fallen officer but it also helps sponsor different programs. The foundation decided to hold the event at the speedway because McGary loved Nascar.
“One of the most important parts of the foundation is it helps sponsor programs like ARLeap, that stands for Arkansas Law Enforcement Assistance program. It helps officers in the Arkansas area that have been through traumatic events like Will's incident,” he said.
Mitchell said officers go through and see a lot and they need help to cope.
“There were officers that were with him, that witnessed him being struck by the driver. I've seen the impact the ARLeap through the Will McGary Foundation has helped those officers that were there,” he said.
The event is on Saturday, March 24th at 4 p.m., and will go until the last race finishes. There's even a special guest coming!
“The Foundation will sell items like t-shirts and hats and things like that. We also have Mark Martin coming and he'll be here from 5-7 p.m. to sign autographs and all that is to benefit the I-30 Speedway and the Will McGary Foundation,” Mitchell said.
If you would like more information, visit the Foundation's Facebook page.