Nassau Police crossing guard critically injured in Merrick by driver ‘high on drugs’

A driver allegedly high on drugs is under arrest after plowing onto a sidewalk in Merrick and critically injuring a Nassau County Police crossing guard who was shoveling snow for pedestrians Thursday morning, authorities said.

The 70-year-old guard, employed by Nassau Poice, was struck just after 8 a.m. at the corner of Merrick Avenue and Sunrise Highway, just south of the Long Island Rail Road station, officials said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he remained in critical condition and undergoing surgery as of early afternoon.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said the guard was on duty and clearing snow for pedestrians when the driver, allegedly impaired by drugs, drove his pick-up truck onto the sidewalk and hit him.

“The crossing guard was hit this morning while on duty by a driver who was high on some type of drug,” Donnelly said. “He went up on a sidewalk is what I’m told and hit our 70-year-old crossing guard. He’s in critical condition. He’s in surgery right now. We’re not sure what his status is going to be. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”

Donnelly said the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel “on a drug that makes you fall asleep.”

Authorities said a suspect is in custody. Charges had not yet been detailed as of Thursday afternoon, though county officials, including Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder and County Executive Bruce Blakeman, were scheduled to hold a 2 p.m. press conference to discuss the case.

The pedestrian strike comes just one month after Nassau Police Officer Patricia Espinosa was killed by an alleged drunken driver in Suffolk County, while on her to work early in the morning. Donnelly again urged the public not to drive while under the influence.

“This driving while you’re high — driving while you’re drunk — has got to stop,” she said.

_{Top: GLI courtesy photo}