Suffolk County Police Officer Brendon Gallagher is making progress; remains in critical but stable condition, officials say

The surgeon who operated on Suffolk County Police Officer Brendon Gallagher after he was critically injured in a high-speed crash on the Long Island Expressway on Sunday said the officer has made some progress "to get where he is," given the amount of trauma he suffered.

"There is that will to live, and I will never underestimate the will to live," Dr. James Vosswinkel, chief of trauma surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital, said Tuesday, cautioning that it is too early in the process to discuss a long-term prognosis for the injured officer.

"My main focus is to get him out of this alive," Vosswinkel, who is also the Suffolk County Police Department's chief surgeon, told Newsday on Tuesday. 

Vosswinkel said Gallagher faces numerous possible complications, including infections and respiratory failure. The surgeon also credited the "hard work of a lot of people" who have helped Gallagher achieve that progress. 

Suffolk police said Gallagher, 30, was still in critical but stable condition at Stony Brook University Hospital on Tuesday, where he was on a ventilator and life support.

Gallagher, a U.S. Army Veteran who served in Afghanistan, suffered severe trauma after a suspect knocked his police vehicle off the expressway in Brentwood on Sunday evening, police said at a news conference on Monday.

The vehicle hit a tree and overturned, trapping Gallagher in the twisted wreckage for more than 30 minutes. Police paramedics climbed into the upside-down wreckage and attempted to stanch Gallagher’s bleeding, Vosswinkel said, while members of the Brentwood Fire Department stabilized the gnarled vehicle.

It was the second time Gallagher was injured during his tenure with the Suffolk County Police Department. Gallagher was stabbed during a confrontation with a Medford man in December 2022. Gallagher’s partner, Raymond Stock, was also injured during the attack.

Vosswinkel got to know Gallagher after treating him for the 2022 stabbing and said he is a good-hearted and fun-loving officer whose humor belies an inner toughness. He said Gallagher is a bit of a character, known for his waxed mustache that reminds the doctor of Hall of Fame relief pitcher Rollie Fingers.

"People like Brendon are good people, the kind of people you want in society, who are dedicated to public service," the surgeon said.

Lou Civello, president of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, described Gallagher as a hero at Monday's news conference. "This is an officer that just two years ago was stabbed," he said. "At that point, he didn’t seek out a desk job. Instead, he’s out there, leading the fight against these thugs that are terrorizing our roads." 

Cody Fisher, 29, of Brentwood, was charged with second-degree assault, second-degree unlawful fleeing, reckless driving and driving while ability impaired by drugs in connection with Sunday’s crash. Fisher pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment on Monday in Central Islip. Suffolk District Judge Steven Weissbard set bail at $1 million cash and $2 million bond.

Gallagher’s abdominal wall was lacerated through the skin and muscle following the crash, Vosswinkel said, and the officer's lungs were damaged in the crash. That could lead to possible respiratory problems. Patients who have suffered severe trauma also face possible infections.

Gallagher did not suffer spinal injuries, but the trauma to his body is so severe that doctors have been unable to conduct a full examination. "There may be issues we haven’t identified yet," Vosswinkel warned.

Gallagher is a member of the department’s Street Takeover Task Force, created last year to combat illegal street racing. Police said Gallagher was conducting a traffic stop just after 6 p.m. near Exit 55 on the westbound portion of the expressway when a 2021 Ford Mustang driven by Fisher sped by at 95 to 100 mph.

"Gallagher followed Fisher, who attempted to blend in with traffic, before pulling behind the Mustang and activating his sirens and lights. Fisher accelerated, and the Mustang fishtailed, striking Gallagher’s vehicle, police said.

Fisher almost struck another vehicle while changing lanes, and then overcorrected, sideswiping the driver’s side of Gallagher’s SUV and forcing it off the road. The police vehicle went off the road, where it hit a tree and overturned.

"Street racing has to stop," Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said at Monday’s news conference. "Drugged and drunk driving has to stop. This is nonsense. This endangers every life."