Dixon Police Officer Collin Grady was honored at Monday’s Dixon City Council meeting for his actions Jan. 8 that saved the life of a driver whose vehicle struck a house and a gas line.

“If it wasn’t for you [Grady], that patient would definitely have expired. You saved that gentleman’s life,” Dr. Tyrone R. Brand, one of the emergency room physicians who treated the driver at OSF Saint Katharine Medical Center, said.

On Jan. 8, the Dixon Police Department received a report of a single-vehicle accident. Grady was the first to arrive at the scene where a car had crashed into a house and struck a gas line.

“This was a chaotic scene with many possibilities for additional things to go wrong. Officer Grady maintained his composure and did what he was trained to do,” Dixon Police Chief Ryan Bivins said.

Grady quickly determined the driver was injured and losing a lot of blood so he applied a tourniquet from his first-aid kit to the individual’s leg.

“He [Grady] later said it was the first time he did that, and just got training, which was amazing to me,” Brand said.

When the driver arrived at the hospital “there was obvious evidence of extreme trauma, but one of the things that caught my eye was the fact that this patient was definitely hemorrhaging quite a bit of blood,” Brand said.

“Unbeknownst to you [Grady] was that the patient actually had a history of vascular disease and was on blood thinners,” Brand said. Applying the tourniquet as quickly as Grady did “gave the patient enough time to survive from the initial accident to us so we could do our advanced care.”

“You put yourself in harm’s way to save this patient. You pulled him out of his wreckage,” Brand said.

“We’re very proud of you. It’s quite an honor to be able to give this to you. We’re very thankful that you’re here with us and a part of our team,” Bivins said.

Grady joined the Dixon Police Department in August 2024.

“The fact that you reacted versus many people would hesitate, I think, is an example of not just you personally, but I think also an example of the quality of the officer that you are amongst your team and amongst from senior leadership, senior officers, and the training that you do receive,” Brand said. “The professionalism that you guys carry, the integrity that you have, the fact that you’re so integrated into the community and you perform well every single time, is absolutely outstanding.”