Injured Long Island Cop To Be Released From Hospital

STONY BROOK, NY — An injured Long Island police officer who had been in a medically-induced coma after being struck in a chain reaction crash involving an alleged drunk driver will be released from Stony Brook Hospital Medical Center on Friday, police said.

Officer Timothy Thrane had been directing traffic after an earlier car crash at the intersection of William Floyd Parkway and Yaphank Woods Boulevard on Nov. 3 at midnight when a drunk driver struck the rear of a parked GMC Yukon causing the vehicle to strike him. Thirty-five-year-old Thrane, a three-year member of the force, suffered life-threatening brain injuries and was on life support and a ventilator following the crash.

He has had multiple surgeries and round-the-clock care and is set to begin his rehabilitation at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson.

Before Thrane's discharge, a news conference will be held at the hospital with County Executive Steve Bellone, Acting Police Commissioner Stuart Cameron, and Stony Brook University Hospital Chief of the Division of Trauma, Emergency Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care Dr. James Vosswinkel, also the department's Chief Consulting Surgeon and Medical Director, who will discuss the officer's injuries and treatment.

Police Benevolent Association President Noel DiGerolamo is expected to speak on Thrane's behalf.

Fellow officers Mark Collins, Christian Vidal, and detectives Christopher Racioppo and Nicholas Guerrero, who were also critically injured on-duty and returned to work, will be on hand to lend support, as well as other members of the department.