ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- Fire departments, businesses and residents throughout the area are coming together for a benefit Saturday in Robertsdale for Summerdale Police Officer Terry Fent, who was severely injured in a single-vehicle car accident Feb. 18 in Summerdale.

Fent, 37, from Robertsdale, is recovering at USA Hospital in Mobile after attempting to avoid an animal on Hoffman Road around 8:10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18.

In an interview just days after the accident, Summerdale Police Chief Eddie Ingram reported that Fent hit a culvert with his pickup truck on the way to a training session after his wheels left the road and the vehicle steered into a ditch.

The patrolman broke his back in two places near his neck and his lower back, suffered massive head injuries and a spinal cord injury, Ingram said. Fent is experiencing numb limbs and loss of dexterity in his arms but is not paralyzed, according to the victim’s mother.

When contacted on Monday, Ingram said while Fent’s condition had been upgraded last week to stable, he had worsened over the last few days and he was scheduled to have stomach surgery later that day.

“He’s in bad shape,” Ingram said. “He’s had several internal injuries and has been having trouble keeping down solid foods.”

Saturday’s benefit will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 3 at the Garrett Park Pavilion off of Pennsylvania Street in Robertsdale.

The event will include live music from the John Doe Band. A silent auction and raffle will also be held in conjunction with the event with several items being donated from local businesses, including LuLu’s in Gulf Shores, said Candie Koenig, one of the event’s organizers.

The event will also include inflatables and other activities for kids.

Several fire departments in the area have donated items and time for the event, said firefighter David Lay with the Summerdale Volunteer Fire Department.

In addition to Summerdale, fire departments in Robertsdale, Elsanor, Marlow, Barnwell, Loxley and Magnolia Springs have donated or are scheduled to participate in the event.

The drug dog from the Loxley Police Department is also scheduled to give a demonstration Saturday.

Koenig said while she does not know Fent personally, she was contacted through a friend, Hillary Johnson, to help organize the event.

“My fiancé is a police officer in Spanish Fort and I know if we were ever in that situation we would be looking to others to help out,” she said. “We just want to do everything we can to help him and his family through this difficult time.”

When contacted on Monday, Johnson encouraged everyone to support the benefit.

“We just want everyone to come out and give as much as they can,” Johnson said.

A 14-year veteran in law enforcement, Fent was the assistant chief in Silverhill before being rehired by the Summerdale Police Department in November.

Because Fent was still under a three-month probationary period as a condition of his hire, he did not have any health insurance, Ingram said. The police department has set up a fund to help the wounded officer pay medical expenses related to the accident.  He was just seven days from receiving full benefits from the department when the accident occurred.

Anyone wishing to participate in Saturday’s benefit can contact Johnson at 251-391-5587 or Koenig at 251-424-7212. Information can also be obtained on the Officer Fent Support Page on Facebook.

Donations for Fent’s medical expenses can also be delivered or mailed to the Summerdale Municipal Complex at 502 W. Lee Ave, Summerdale, AL, 36580. Donors should make checks payable to Terry Fent, Ingram said.

Onlooker Community News Director Hanna Garcia contributed to this report.