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The Suffolk County Police officer critically injured earlier this month in a crash on the Long Island Expressway during a police pursuit was released from Stony Brook University Hospital on Monday.
Officer Brendon Gallagher, 35, a member of the department’s Street Takeover Task Force, was conducting a traffic stop near Exit 55 in Brentwood on Jan. 5 when a Ford Mustang, allegedly driven by Cody Fisher, 29, sped by at nearly 100 mph.
Gallagher pursued the vehicle, but Fisher lost control, sideswiping Gallagher’s patrol SUV, police said. The officer’s vehicle overturned and struck a tree, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.
Drivers caught racing Sunday night on County Road 101 in Medford
After 22 days at Stony Brook University Hospital, Officer Gallagher was released to continue his recovery at home.
A press conference about Gallagher’s recovery was held Monday at 11:30 a.m.
“Today, we see something that is truly nothing short of a miracle, that he is being released short three weeks and one day after his accident,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine at the press conference.
Gravely injured Suffolk cop, Brendon Gallagher, was released from @StonyBrookMed after 22 days in the hospital.
— Greater Long Island 📰 (@Greater_LI) January 28, 2025
Upon his release, he was greeted to a standing ovation.
Officer Gallagher, 35, was critically injured on Jan. 5 near Exit 55 in Brentwood when a Ford Mustang sped… pic.twitter.com/PRYPQ2qt1d
(Watch the full live stream here.)
Upon his release, Gallagher was greeted with a standing ovation from the crowd gathered to celebrate him. Taking the microphone, he expressed his gratitude: “I want to thank everyone for their support, and I am proud to be a Suffolk cop.”
First responders spent 30 minutes freeing Gallagher from the wreckage. He was airlifted to the hospital, where he underwent surgery and received 25 units of blood. Suffolk County Police Acting Commissioner Robert Waring said Gallagher’s injuries were “so severe, they are typically considered not survivable.”
Gallagher, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran who served in Afghanistan from 2016 to 2017, previously survived a stabbing in the line of duty in December 2022 during a police call in Medford.
Fisher was apprehended by an off-duty Nassau County Police officer after the crash, police said. He has been charged with multiple offenses, including driving while impaired by drugs, second-degree assault, and unlawful fleeing of a police officer. He was on probation for a prior weapons conviction at the time of the crash, authorities said.
Prior coverage
Photos
Photos courtesy of Stony Brook Medicine















— Reporting with Brian Harmon