HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Monday marked a major milestone for Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Deputy Leonard Cantave.

Cantave, badly hurt in a crash on Florida’s Turnpike in late December, was all smiles as he was wheeled out of Memorial Regional Hospital South in Hollywood, where he was spending time in a rehabilitation facility after being badly hurt in a December crash on Florida’s Turnpike in Doral.

Authorities said the wreck happened on Dec. 27 as Cantave, a six-year MDSO veteran, was assisting the Florida Highway Patrol with another crash as he headed into work. Authorities said a driver ― identified as 28-year-old Lonnel Brinson Jr. ― hit Cantave with his SUV as he swerved to avoid the deputy’s cruiser.

Cantave was “vaulted into the air” by the force of the crash and was critically injured, leading medics to airlift him to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital with critical injuries. Brinson, of Miramar, was arrested.

Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz told media outlets Monday that Cantave, known as Leo, pushed a Doral police officer out of the way, preventing him from getting injured.

“Today is the kind of day that, as sheriff, I have to say, I’m overwhelmed with emotion,” Cordero-Stutz said. “You see, the story of our deputy could have gone very, very differently and as you all know, we’ve had a very difficult year, but that’s not what today is. Today is the day that Leo got to leave this rehabilitation location, well on his way to recovery.”

Cantave told Local 10 News he’s “very grateful” to be out of the hospital.

Cordero-Stutz said he still faces a very long road to full recovery, but said she looks forward to the day that he’ll once again put on his uniform.

Miami-Dade deputy released from rehab more than a month after Turnpike crash

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Trent Kelly