Mourners are remembering a Nassau County policeman killed on the Long Island Expressway.
A wake for Officer Joseph P. Olivieri will be held at the Ronkonkoma Fire Department Saturday night and Sunday.
The driver accused of starting a chain reaction crash that ended in the death of Olivieri was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, among other charges.
Authorities say 25-year-old James Ryan had been in an accident with a 2008 BMW and had continued on down the expressway, when he struck a Honda Civic, stopping in the HOV lane. Olivieri stopped to help Ryan when he was hit.
Ryan, whose father is a 32-year Port Authority Police veteran, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries before his arrest.
Authorities said Friday that his blood alcohol level was .09, above the legal limit of .08.
His lawyer argued there was no causality between his client's actions and the death of Olivieri.
"My client did not strike the police officer," Brian Davis said in court.
Ryan's bail was set at $120,000. He pleaded not guilty and is out on bail.
"My client grew up in a police family and he understands how horrible, how devastating this is," Davis said.
