Michael McCloskey Jr. is getting help from a local girl who understands what he's going through.
The shooting of McCloskey opened a terrible a wound for Stevie Beale, now 21. She was paralyzed nearly 4 years ago in a car accident after she and some friends where chased by another car.
The teens crashed. It happened in Monroe at Clegg and Whiteford Center.
She says she understands what the McCloskey family is going through. "I go and visit him and tell him things that I've learned to do, contacts that I have about getting wheelchairs, because these are things you just don't know. He calls me with a question and I answer it. His mom will call my mom with a question, just kind of tricks and tips you wouldn't know unless you were in this."
McCloskey was shot and paralyzed during a traffic stop in Ottawa Hills. Friday night, a jury found officer Thomas White guilty of the crime.
Beale says she met McCloskey through a family friend who asked her to visit Michael. "I was mostly in shock with how big he was. I just basically told him 'Its going to be OK. I know everybody said that to you but I've been exactly where you've been'."
The young woman attended every day of the trial of the officer who shot her new friend. She calls McCloskey an amazing, strong- willed person. "When this first happened to me, I was like 'Oh gosh, life is over and I don't know what to do'. I never experienced him saying something like that. He's just been like 'Well, this sucks but here we go'."
In the wake of what she's been through, and what Michael McCloskey is going through now, the college student says she'll be there to support him along the way.
Sunday May 23, a biker fundraiser will be held for Michael McCloskey. Bikers will meet at The Omni on West Bancroft at 11 a.m. The ride starts at noon.
