Off-Duty Suffolk Officer Charged In Crash That Critically Injured Motorcyclist
RONKONKOMA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Suffolk County police officer was charged Monday in a crash that left a motorcyclist critically injured over the weekend.
Officer Thomas O'Neill, 44, of Centereach, is assigned to the Community Response Bureau and has been with the department since 2003, according to a news release.
He surrendered at the Fourth Precinct Monday and was charged with leaving the scene of an incident resulting in serious physical injury, police said.
Around 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Charles Giardinello, 44, was riding a motorcycle down Portion Road near Avenue B in Ronkonkoma when he was struck by a pickup truck that was allegedly being driven by O'Neill while off duty, police said.
The pickup truck driver fled the scene, heading north on Avenue B, while Giardinello, of Nesconset, was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook in critical condition, police said.
O'Neill surrendered his vehicle sand consented to a search, and submitted a blood test that will be analyzed for alcohol or drugs, police said. He has been suspended without pay, and was arraigned Monday, police said.
