Five months after being pulled from a fiery head-on collision, Cherokee County Sheriff's Deputy Ronnie Painter has returned to work.

Therapy and multiple surgeries have helped Painter recover from serious injuries to his left arm and both feet.

"I'm getting around better than they thought I would be at this point," Painter said. "Everything is working out great and I'm glad to be back."

The deputy climbed back into a cruiser Friday for the first time since the Sept. 4 accident and said it felt like he was returning home. In fact, a few people heard him sign on over the police scanner and called him to welcome him back home.

"It's like family," he described. "I feel like I'm a part of something and I'm thankful I can come back to work."

Painter was responding to a suspicious vehicle call Sept. 4 when he was struck by a 1997 Mitsubishi driven by 19- year-old Darrell Dean Huskey of Shelby, N.C., who died in the accident.

According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, Huskey had passed a vehicle but failed to return to his lane and struck the deputy head-on.

Four local residents were credited with saving Painter's life by pulling him from his 2005 Ford Crown Victoria as it caught fire. Shane Seals, Michael Crook, and Chuck and Patsy Martin were honored in October for risking their own lives to save the officer.

Painter had been a fulltime sheriff's deputy for about six months prior to the wreck and had served as a reserve deputy prior to that. He also serves as assistant chief at the Draytonville McKowns Mountain Wilkinsville Volunteer Fire Department and works with his father, Dean, at Painter's Heating and Air Conditioning.