PLANTATION, Fla. -- Plantation police officer Joseph Alu is out of a coma, but remains in critical condition in Miami.

Some have called Alu the "hard luck cop." The 45-year-old cheated death in 1995 when a suspect set his own house on fire trying to escape arrest by Alu and another officer. After that accident, he underwent years of painful reconstructive and skin graft surgery, but he survived. He is back in the hospital following a motorcycle accident in the Keys.

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Hero Officer Hospitalized

According to the Florida Highway patrol, Alu was participating in the annual poker run for charity Sunday when his 1992 Harley-Davidson was struck from behind by a Ford Mustang traveling northbound on U.S. 1 at around 1 p.m.

He was not wearing a helmet.

Alu's wife, Sheila, a Sunrise city commissioner, told the Miami Herald that he suffered brain injuries in the crash.

Alu was treated at the scene by paramedics and initially asked to be released, according to FHP officials. 'At the time, he felt that he didn't need more medical attention,'' said FHP spokesman Lt. Julio Pajon.

But a few hours later, he was taken to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier, and then airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

He remained in critical condition in the neurological intensive care unit Tuesday.

''All we can do is pray,'' Sheila Alu said Monday, adding that when their children touched Alu's hand Monday, he squeezed back.

This was Alu's second brush with death. In 1995 he and another officer suffered severe burns in a house explosion.

Alu and James O'Hara were injured in a standoff with the estranged boyfriend of Angela Smith at her Plantation Park home. Steven Joseph had taken her three daughters hostage and splashed gasoline throughout the home, threatening to light it.

The youngest girl managed to escape, but as Alu and O'Hara rushed into the house to attempt to end the standoff, the house exploded, killing Joseph and two of the children, Kideko, 15, and Anne Marie, 14.

O'Hara suffered burns over 75 percent of his body, including severe burns to his face, arms and hands. His wife had to bathe, feed and dress him. He and O'Hara endured months of grueling physical therapy, as well as multiple skin grafts.

Smith later sued Alu and the Plantation Police Department, saying Alu's gun had sparked the fire. But an investigation by the Broward Sheriff's Office determined that the explosion and fire were set off by Joseph.

Alu later returned to the force, and was participating in a fund-raising event near Key West on Sunday when the accident took place.

Following the accident, the driver of the Mustang, Randall R. Dell, 22, of Big Pine Key, was cited for failure to use due care, the FHP said.

Florida's helmet law was repealed in 2000. The law, signed by Gov. Jeb Bush in June of that year, allows motorcyclists 21 years of age and older who carry $10,000 insurance to ride without helmets. Groups who led the fight to repeal the law stated that the wearing of helmets had no proven impact on safety when it comes to motorcycle accidents, and that wearing the gear should be a matter of individual choice. The American Medical Association and other groups support the use of helmets, which they say reduce the chance of brain injuries when a motorcyclist is involved in an accident.

More than 2 million traumatic brain injuries occur every year, according to government statistics, with motor vehicles accounting for more than half of them.

For more information on the helmet laws in the United States and on brain injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents, click here.