Long Island Man Charged In Crash That Injured Officer

WESTBURY, NY — State police charged a man with driving while impaired after a crash Thursday morning that injured a state trooper.

According to police, the trooper was parked in his patrol car on the southbound shoulder of the Wantagh State Parkway, south of exit W2 in Westbury, around 11:30 a.m. when he was hit from behind by the driver of a Chevrolet Blazer.

Police said Gerald Breitfeller, 45, of Ronkonkoma, was driving the Blazer. The trooper, who police identified as Joseph Potucek, was hospitalized with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Breitfeller was not injured.

Breitfeller was charged with driving while ability impaired combined drugs/alcohol, first-degree operation of a motor vehicle impaired by drugs, three counts of third-degree assault and two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment. He was scheduled to be arraigned later Friday in First District Court in Hempstead.