A Cape Coral police officer is fighting for his life after his motorcycle collided with an SUV.

It happened Tuesday afternoon on Cultural Park Boulevard one block south of Hancock Bridge Parkway.

Damien Garcia, 26, was rushed to the Lee Memorial Trauma Center around 3:30 p.m. with critical injuries. His little boy, family and his police officer brotherhood aren't leaving his side.

"We're going to be keeping a vigil through the night, just praying that every thing is going to be OK," Cape Coral Police Chief Robert Petrovich says. "It's a dark hour for us."

Flanked by fellow officers, Chief Petrovich tells WINK News the next 72 hours are critical for Officer Garcia.

He was severely injured when an SUV pulled out in front in him. The vehicle has a major indentation where Officer Garcia's motorcycle slammed head-on into it.

"We always know it isn't a matter of if, but unfortunately when in this line of business," Chief Petrovich says of the accident.

Joe Falasco was the first witness on scene trying to help.

"The chin strap -- I yelled to get a knife to cut the chin strap (of his helmet) off because he wasn't breathing there for a while," Falasco says.

Now fellow officers come to stand by one of their own.

We first met the young Cape Coral traffic officer as he showed his support for a fallen brother of the badge, collecting money for the family of Fort Myers Officer Andrew Widman who was gunned down last July.

"It's nice to see that they're still here supporting us," Officer Garcia told WINK News then.

Just like his own family, flown in from the east coast will do -- side by side with Officer Garcia's squad until the day he comes home.

"You wish you could do something more to help," Chief Petrovich says. "How can you undo what happened? We're just still remaining hopeful."

Florida Highway Patrol investigated the crash. According to troopers, Officer Garcia did not have enough time to avoid hitting the SUV. That's car's driver told crash scene investigators she did not see the motorcycle.