Suffolk Sheriff's Office Civilian Employee Accused Of Leaving Crash

PATCHOGUE, NY — A Suffolk County Sheriff's Office employee has been indicted after prosecutors said he left the scene of a crash that injured another driver, then lied on documents to cover it up.

Brian Sloan, a 57-year-old civilian mechanic employed by the sheriff's office, left the scene of a crash involving his county-owned vehicle, then lied about his involvement.

On Dec. 23, Sloan was driving a Ford F-250 pickup truck owned by the sheriff's office on Patchogue Yaphank Road in Patchogue when he ran a red light and crashed into a sedan that was turning left, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said in a news release Wednesday. The collision injured the sedan driver and the car. Sloan drove off without stopping or exchanging information, prosecutors said.

An ambulance took the sedan driver to Long Island Community Hospital for treatment. An off-duty New York City police officer saw the crash and followed the truck, recording its license plate number.

Sloan later lied to the Suffolk sheriff's office about his involvement, saying instead that he was involved in a one-car crash, prosecutors said. He signed and submitted two separate documents indicating the truck hit an icy patch, causing it to crash into a guardrail at a location roughly two miles away from the actual crash location, prosecutors alleged.

Sloan was charged with leaving the scene of an incident with personal injury without reporting, as well as two counts of falsifying business records, two counts of offering a false instrument for filing — all felonies — and two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct.

Sloan surrendered Wednesday and appeared in court. He is not eligible for bail under state law, prosecutors said, and was released on his own recognizance. Sloan is due in court April 26.

Tierney said no one is above the law, including government employees. He thanked the sheriff's office for their cooperation and professionalism in referring the matter for investigation and for their help throughout the investigation.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. echoed his sentiments, and said his office has "zero-tolerance for criminal behavior."