Cops Seek Wheels For Injured Vet
BY LIZ GOFF

When Lieutenant Michael Coyle and a team of cops from the 106th Precinct responded to the scene of a recent vehicle fire, they spotted a man on crutches clutching an American flag.

Marine Captain Raymond Lopes told the cops his 1978 truck overheated while he was driving from rehabilitation for injuries he suffered while on a second tour of duty in Iraq.

Within seconds, the dashboard began to melt and flames from the engine engulfed the truck, he said. He had only seconds to get out of the truck-but he couldn't leave the flag to burn.

"He was out of the truck, out of the fire," the cops said. "He risked his life to save the flag."

Coyle said it didn't take long for the cops to realize that paying for a tow was going to pinch the injured vet's budget. So when the tow truck arrived at the scene, the cops silently slipped the cost of the tow into Lopes' pocket.

"This guy did not one, but two tours in Iraq," Coyle said. "He gets shot with an AK-47, comes home with a shattered hip and realizes he can never return to his job in construction-and then his truck catches on fire. We wanted to help him out for a lot of reasons."

The cops said Lopes served his first tour in Iraq in March 2003 as a helicopter pilot with the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment.

He returned to Iraq in March 2005 with the 3rd Battalion. His hip was shattered during bloody, house-to-house fighting in Haditha in May 2005, the cops said.

Lopes said he was "broken up" by the kind words and actions of the cops. He said he hopes to attend law school once he recovers from his injuries, and get on with his life.

Meanwhile, the cops are searching for an auto dealership with a heart-or someone else who might want to help Lopes by donating a vehicle to the injured veteran.

Anyone who would like to help can reach Lopes through the 106th Precinct Community Affairs Unit at 718-845-2211.