The officer was investigating an accident in Yaphank when a pickup truck struck
A police officer on Long Island was severely injured after he was hit by a alleged drunk driver late Tuesday while investigating an accident.
The Suffolk County officer was investigating a separate crash in Yaphank on the William Floyd Parkway, north of the Long Island Expressway, just before midnight when a pickup truck struck his vehicle and in turn struck him, officials said.
The officer suffered a severe head injury and underwent brain surgery overnight. A man from Mastic faces DWI charges for the incident that has left the officer hospitalized and breathing on a ventilator.
Dr. James Vosswinkel, a trauma surgeon and Suffolk County Medical Director, said it was "too soon to say what injuries" the officer suffered, but said it could have been even worse than it was.
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"We are extremely grateful that we have, I don't want to say 'dodged a bullet,' but gotten him to this point, and that he's alive," Dr. Vosswinkel said.
He and the acting police commissioner gave credit to the collaboration and communication between first responders at the scene and at the hospital for getting the officer this far.
