'Grateful' DOT Worker Is Released From Stony Brook Hospital After Police Say He Was Struck By Drunk Driver

STONY BROOK, NY — On Tuesday, a throng of state Department of Transportation workers lined up outside of Stony Brook University Hospital door, waiting excitedly for the man of the hour.

As a door leading to the parking lot opened, the workers clapped, and Randy Acum could be heard from inside the hallway reacting in surprise as he was wheeled out in his wheelchair into the sunlight.

He told his coworkers that he was glad to be released.

Acum, 47, of Mastic, had been hospitalized since February after police say he was hit by a car when responding to a crash on the Long Island Expressway on Feb. 26. He had been dispatched to the Long Island Expressway in Holtsville to help at the scene of a single-vehicle crash involving a drunken driver, when he was struck by a car driven by another drunken driver, Suffolk police initially told Patch.

He was rushed to Stony Brook for treatment of serious injuries, police said.

Acum, holding a cane, intermittently wiped tears from his face, while shaking hands, and getting hugs.

"They kept me alive," he told them, adding, "and I appreciate every single one of you. I know I didn't get a chance to talk too much, but trust you're always in my heart."

"I feel grateful," he said.

In a statement to Patch, DOT Long Island Regional Director Richard Causin said the agency is thankful that Acum has returned home from the hospital, and its workers continue to extend "best wishes for a full and speedy recovery."

"What occurred the night he was injured serves as a reminder that everyone must drive responsibly and safely to prevent something like this from occurring again," he added.

The 54-year-old man from Centereach who struck Acum was charged with driving while intoxicated, according to police.

He pleaded not guilty and was released without monetary conditions, online court records show.

Patch has reached out to his attorney, Samuel Lutzer of Central Islip.