NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A man was indicted for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, speeding, refusing to pull over, and crashing into a Suffolk County police officer's vehicle, causing it to flip and hit a tree, prosecutors announced Friday.
Cody B. Fisher, 29, of Brentwood, was indicted for assault on a police officer and several other related charges, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
According to court documents, highway patrol officer Brendon Gallagher was conducting a traffic stop on the westbound Long Island Expressway, near Exit 55, on Jan. 5. when a 2021 Ford Mustang sped past him, police said.
He activated his lights and sirens and tried to pull over the Mustang, but the operator lost control of his vehicle and sideswiped Gallagher's patrol car. The police vehicle was rammed off the roadway, overturned and crashed into a tree.
The Mustang also went off the roadway and struck a light post, officials said. The driver, Fisher, was arrested by an off-duty Nassau County police officer who was driving by at the time of the incident. He was taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore to treat non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Officer Gallagher was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital and treated for serious injuries including a torn aorta and abdominal injuries which required surgery. He remains at the hospital, prosecutors said.
Police Commissioner Robert Waring said that removing Gallagher from the demolished car was a delicate process.
"It took our emergency services officers over 30 minutes to extricate him from the vehicle," Waring had said earlier this month.
Gallagher is a member of Suffolk County Police's Street Takeover Task Force, and only two years ago suffered a stab wound at another crime scene while on-duty.
"The serious injuries sustained by Officer Gallagher, who was simply upholding his duty to protect our community, underscores the devastating consequences of dangerous driving," Tierney said. "The charges contained in the indictment reflect the severity of these actions, and we intend to hold the defendant fully accountable under the law."
Fisher was arraigned on multiple charges outlined in the indictment, including assault on a police officer, vehicular assault, unlawful fleeing a police officer, reckless endangerment, driving while ability impaired by drugs, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of a drug or alcohol and drugs, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, reckless driving, and speeding, according to prosecutors.
