A Long Island man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for a high-speed crash that nearly killed a Suffolk County cop earlier this year.
Cody B. Fisher, of Brentwood, pleaded guilty in September to assault on a police officer, vehicular assault and related charges for the January crash that occurred on the Long Island Expressway.
According to Suffolk County prosecutors, Fisher, 29, was impaired by a combination of alcohol and marijuana when he flew by Officer Brendan Gallagher, who was conducting a traffic stop on another driver.
Gallagher then pursued Fisher and attempted to pull him over, but Fisher refused to stop. He instead led Gallagher on a chase, “weaving in and out of lanes” and “reaching speeds up to 100 mph,” prosecutors said in a press release.
At one point, Gallagher pulled up alongside Fisher, who revved his engine and sideswiped the police cruiser, causing it to flip over and smash into a tree.
Gallagher was critically wounded and had to be extricated from his vehicle. He was airlifted to Stony Brook Hospital for emergency surgery to treat a torn aorta and a sliced-open abdomen and was ultimately placed on life support.
At Fisher’s sentencing on Tuesday, he tearfully apologized to Gallagher, who remains on medical leave and continues to suffer from serious issues as a result of his injuries. However, the apology appeared to fall on deaf ears.
“I think he’s just sorry he got caught. Whenever somebody gets caught, they’re always sorry,” Gallagher said at a press conference following the hearing.
In addition to the other charges, Fisher also pleaded guilty to counts of unlawful fleeing a police officer, driving while ability impaired, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and assault in the second degree.
“This case went beyond a reckless flight. The fact that this officer survived is nothing short of a miracle,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “Today’s sentence of a decade in state prison reflects the gravity of using a motor vehicle as an instrument of violence against those sworn to protect our community.”
Prior to the January incident, Fisher had brandished a gun at another driver during a road rage incident in Queens. The judge, when handing down his hefty sentence Tuesday, called him a “proven menace on the roads.”
