Suffolk police have identified the officer severely injured during a crash caused by an alleged drunk driver at Timothy Thrane, a Seventh Precinct cop who joined the department about three years ago.
Thrane, 35, suffered a life-threatening brain injury while directing traffic in Yaphank early Wednesday.
Officials said Thrane, who is married and is the father of three children, was in stable condition Thursday but remains in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator at Stony Brook Medical Center.
Police said he was hurt in Yaphank early Wednesday when a pickup truck driver hit an SUV, which then struck the officer.
The pickup truck driver, William Petersohn, 38, of Mastic, has been charged with driving while intoxicated, police said. Petersohn, who likely faces additional charges, was also seriously injured in the crash.
He pleaded not guilty to DWI charges that he drove drunk at his arraignment Thursday.
Petersohn, 38, appeared on video from his hospital room for an arraignment in a Central Islip courtroom.
He was joined in his room by by his Legal Aid attorney, Jacqueline Flores, who entered the not guilty plea on his behalf in Suffolk County First District Court.
Assistant District Attorney James Scahill said he would normally ask for bail to be set but the charges were not eligible for cash bail. He asked the court to suspend Petersohn’s license, surrender his passport and place him on supervised release under probation.
Prosecutors said Petersohn was driving with a blood alcohol concentration at twice the legal limit when he crashed into the police cruiser blocking southbound William Floyd Parkway.
Scahill said the officer was standing outside his patrol car attending to an unrelated crash when Petersohn crashed into the police cruiser.
“He struck the car, causing it to fishtail and spin into the police officer,” Scahill said.
The officer fractured his skull and was found with a brain bleed, sending him into emergency neurosurgery.
Police said Petersohn admitted to drinking and appeared to have glassy eyes, slurred speech and alcohol on his breath.
Petersohn was seriously injured in the crash and remained hospitalized Thursday.
He was ordered to return to court Nov. 24.
The officer’s Suffolk County patrol car was parked in the road blocking traffic due to an earlier investigation at the intersection of William Floyd Parkway and Yaphank Woods Boulevard around midnight when the crash happened, police said.
The officer who was hurt was in the road when Petersohn, driving a 1999 Chevrolet pickup truck headed south on William Floyd Parkway, rear-ended a GMC Yukon and then hit the patrol car, police said.
The driver of the GMC Yukon was not hurt, police said.
