New Hyde Park Man Indicted For Crash That Seriously Injured Cop

A New Hyde Park man was arraigned Wednesday on a grand jury indictment in connection to a drunken crash that seriously injured a Nassau County Police Department officer on New Year's Day, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

Keith Dillon, 29, was arraigned on 14 counts, including aggravated vehicular assault and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

“There’s no excuse for people to drive drunk and high,” Singas said in a press release. “Yet this defendant allegedly got behind the wheel – under the influence of both alcohol and drugs – and jeopardized the life of every single person on our streets."

According to the DA, Dillon was speeding southbound on Glen Cove Road in Greenvale in his 2014 Dodge Ram while intoxicated and impaired on Xanax on Jan. 1 at 2:24 a.m. The DA says Dillon drove onto the center medium and crashed his vehicle head-on into an unmarked police car that was being driven by NCPD Officer William Gomes, who was on DWI patrol. The force of the crash pushed the patrol car about 50 feet backwards and rotated it 180 degrees, police say. The Dodge Ram flipped over and came to a stop about 30 to 40 feet from the officer's car.

Officials say Xanax and cocaine were found in Dillon's car after the crash.

Gomes suffered a brain bleed, broken elbow and leg fractures which required multiple surgeries to repair. He now walks with a permanent limp and cannot fully bend his left elbow or touch his face with his left hand. Dillon suffered a fractured ankle from the crash.

"William Gomes is a brave police officer who was working the night shift on New Year’s Eve to keep us safe from drunk drivers," Sinags said. "Tragically, he must live with the injuries he sustained that night while protecting us. "

Dillon is due back in court August 15. He faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

The charges in the indictment include:

• Two counts of Aggravated Vehicular Assault (a C felony)
• Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony)
• Two counts of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree (a D felony)
• Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree (an E felony)
• Two Counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh degree (an A misdemeanor)
• Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor)
• Three counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol (an unclassified misdemeanor)
• Operating a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol and or Drugs (an unclassified misdemeanor)
• Reckless Driving (an unclassified misdemeanor)

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