LI Man Pleads Guilty To Striking Trooper, Causing Brain Injury

WEST ISLIP, NY — A West Islip man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to crashing into a state trooper who was helping a disabled motorist on the Long Island Expressway in 2017, seriously injuring him.

Jesse Cohen was distracted by text conversations on his phone when he hit Trooper Joseph Gallagher on the exit ramp of the LIE in December 2017, according to Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr.

Gallagher suffered a traumatic brain injury and is severely disabled, according to the district attorney. He cannot walk, talk or eat on his own and remains in a medical facility, Scarpino said.

Gallagher was helping a motorist with a disabled vehicle on a two-lane overpass connecting the LIE with the Sagtikos Parkway in Commack in the Town of Smithtown. He closed one lane and exited his patrol car. While he placed flares to divert traffic around the disabled car, more than one car successfully drove around him in the right lane.

However, Cohen didn't see Gallagher and struck him, the district attorney said. Data from Cohen’s phone showed he sent and received dozens of text messages in a number of separate conversations in the 20 minutes while he was driving before striking Gallagher, according to Scarpino.

"The evidence that Jesse Cohen was distracted by text message conversations was overwhelming and today he admitted to causing the devastating crash which resulted in serious injury to Trooper Gallagher," Scarpino said. "The trooper's life will never be the same. Our thoughts remain with him and his family."

Cohen pleaded guilty to third-degree assault with criminal negligence. He appeared in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead before Judge Fernando Camacho. Under the plea agreement, Cohen will serve 30 days in jail, in addition to three years’ probation and 1,000 hours of community service. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 9.

"This crash and the serious injuries that left Trooper Gallagher severely disabled were 100 percent preventable," said New York State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett in a statement. "Using an electronic device behind the wheel is dangerous for the driver, other motorists and our first responders who are working to protect the driving public. Put down your device. It’s the law and it could save a life."

The Westchester District Attorney’s Office was appointed special prosecutor in the case; the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office was recused due to conflict.