The family of fallen Corpus Christi Police Officer Alan McCollum now has one less worry on their plate thanks to the Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers Foundation.
The foundation, established in the memory of a fallen 9/11 FDNY firefighter, announced it will be paying the mortgage on McCollum's family home to honor his service to the department and to the country.
Officer McCollum was killed in the line of duty on January 31 when he was struck by an alleged drunk driver while conducting a traffic stop on the overpass of South Padre Island Drive near Kostoryz.
The man behind the wheel of the truck was identified as 26-year-old Brandon Portillo.
Portillo has been charged with intoxication manslaughter and driving without a license.
Court documents show Friday's incident is not Portillo's first run-in with the law; in fact, this is his second DWI charge.
Portillo's first DWI charge came back in 2015, but it was a charge that was dismissed two years later.
McCollum, in his own right, was the very definition of a hero. McCollum served his country in the U.S. Army in which he received many awards, including the bronze star.
As a police officer, officer McCollum was one of nine officers who risked their safety to rescue a man from a burning car in a 2019 new year's day accident. The act earned him the Corpus Christi Police Department's Life-Saving award. McCollum was also a valued member of the honor guard and the city's SWAT team.
McCollum was a 7-year veteran of the Corpus Christi Police Department. Prior to joining the department, he served for 21 years as a parachute rigger in the U.S. Army.
His wife, Michelle, released this statement regarding the generous donation from the foundation:
"This beautiful gift that Tunnel to Towers is presenting to my family is priceless. About 7 years ago, we decided, after Alan's retirement from the Army, to finally move back home. Home for me was South Texas. Alan was from Reno, Nevada, but for him, home was anywhere with me and the girls. We packed up and moved home, not really knowing where we would settle in terms of a home. We debated between buying or building. Then one day, on a long drive that Alan took, he came across a neighborhood just outside the city. He saw empty lots with lots of possibilities. After taking me to see the land, 1 acre, I knew that look in his eyes, this would be our home one day. Months later, after we went through financing, we bought the land then eventually built our home on this land. Almost a year later, our home was completed. We spent many years traveling where the Army took both he and I. We lived in various homes along the way, never really planting roots. This home, we saw it being built and we both took pride in home ownership. We sat with the architect planning our home, then saw it come to fruition with the construction. We laid our hands on the wet cement outside our garage to mark our home as ‘ours’. We put Bible scriptures on the wood beams as the framing was going up. Each one of us picked out a Bible scripture thanking God for this beautiful home that one day we would be spending our days and nights in. We moved in just before Mother's day in 2013. About that same time, Alan was starting his career with the Corpus Christi Police Department. Our prayers were answered in this home. We have loved, laughed, cried and danced in this home. Our youngest daughter, Liliana, only really remembers THIS home, as all the other homes prior, she was too young to enjoy. Living in this home and eventually gifting it to our girls, means it stays in our family. Alan's dreams came to life in this home, as we often talked about our past, present and future in this home. It means we continue to live for Alan in this home. It means his memory stays in this home. There are so many reasons for this gratitude my family feels for this gift that you are giving us and thank you is not enough,” said Michelle McCollum. “Alan was a wonderful man, I am grateful God brought him into my life 16 years ago and he provided a future for us by building us this home. On the morning of his death, I can remember it like it was yesterday. He woke up, made breakfast for us and got our daughter to school. We said our good-byes, hugs and kisses, as he set off to work later that day. In our home, we shared our final, face-to-face good-bye. That memory will remain in my heart forever. I also received the news of his passing at the front door of my home. Although that was the hardest day in my life, my daughter will remember that morning forever too. Her memory will be of her dad, smiling as he served her breakfast. The sound of him coming home after work. Him chasing her around our home, and so many other memories that have been made in this home for her and for me and one day for her kids that will only know Alan through the pictures all over the walls of our home and our memories of him. That is what it means to us.”
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Fallen First Responder Home Program was created in 2015 with the goal of paying off the mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty who leave behind young children. The Foundation’s goal is to ensure stability and security to these families facing sudden tragic loss.
“Officer McCollum spent more than half of his life, nearly three decades, keeping his country and his city of Corpus Christi safe. His death is a senseless tragedy - something we unfortunately see all too often. It is an honor to take care of his family, as he took care of so many of ours. Michelle and her daughters can now be assured that the home their family built together will be theirs forever,” said Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller.