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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A prospective missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was paralyzed in an officer-involved car accident in January and has not yet opened his mission call as a result.
Eli Ulibarri, 21, was driving his motorcycle southbound on Martin Luther King Street North around 7:40 p.m., Jan. 12, when Cpl. Joe Miner with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office pulled out of a business in an unmarked police car and began crossing the same street, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
As the officer began to cross the street, Eli Ulibarri hit the driver's side of the police vehicle. He tried to avoid the collision and locked up his brakes, but he slid into the side of the car, police said.
Ulibarri was paralyzed from the chest down and broke his back in two areas. Both of his lungs collapsed, multiple ribs broke, and he had some brain damage, according to his mother, Carla Ulibarri.
"He has a problem with short-term memory right now," Carla Ulibarri said. "You can see where his personality is just a tad bit different."
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news conference that Eli Ulibarri did nothing wrong and Miner violated his right of way.
"We've conducted a very thorough, complete … objective investigation and determined that sole responsibility for this terrible accident rests with Cpl. Miner," Gualtieri said during the news conference. "And the sole liability rests with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office as his employer ... responsible for his actions while he's on duty."
Miner was issued a traffic citation in connection with violation of the right of way for failure to yield, police said.
Eli Ulibarri was preparing to go on an LDS mission at the time of his accident. His mission call arrived while he was in the trauma intensive care unit, and the family still has not opened the papers.
The LDS Church declined to publicly comment about what happens to a mission call when a prospective missionary is unable to accept it. "We're hoping that maybe Eli will be able to serve a mission still," Carla Ulibarri said.
She said the members of her LDS ward have been very sweet. When her bishop came to visit her son in the hospital, Eli Ulibarri commented that he liked his tie. The bishop promptly took his tie off and gave it to him.
"Eli said, 'I'm going to wear this on my mission, I'm going to be proud to wear this tie' and the bishop said, 'I'm going to be really proud that you're going to wear this on your mission then,'" Carla Ulibarri said.
Carla Ulibarri posts updates on a Facebook page called Strength for Eli Ulibarri.
"I always try to end it with something as letting everybody know how much it warms my heart that we have people that we don't even know who pray for him and our family," she said.
A GoFundMe account* was also set up for Eli Ulibarri. To donate, visit the website.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
