Driver is Charged with DWI After Truck Hits Cop, Cruiser
By Meaghan M. McDermott, Rochester N.Y. Democrat and Chronicle
A Rochester, N.Y. police officer is recovering at Strong Memorial Hospital after being run down Saturday night by an allegedly drunken driver.
According to the Rochester Police Department, Officers Nicole R. Cookinham and John Drew had finished work on a 911 call about 11 p.m. on Galusha Street and were returning to their cars when they noticed a truck moving erratically toward them on the south side of the street.
The officers tried to get out of the path of the oncoming truck, but both Cookinham and her cruiser were struck.
Cookinham, 26, has been on the force for a little more than a year. In the accident, she suffered serious injuries including compound fractures to her leg, a fractured pelvis and cuts to her head. On Sunday, she was listed in satisfactory condition at the hospital.
Drew was not injured.
After the incident, police arrested James E. Extale, 33, of 146 Hazelwood Terrace and charged him with second-degree assault and felony driving while intoxicated.
According to police, Extale was driving with a revoked license and had two prior DWI incidents on his record.
In 2001, he was sentenced to 16 weekends in jail, five years’ probation, a $1,000 fine and revocation of his driver’s license after pleading guilty to DWI before Monroe County Court Judge Charles T. Maloy.
After Saturday’s incident, Extale was taken to the Monroe County Jail and was scheduled to be arraigned this morning in Rochester City Court.
Cookinham is one of a number of Rochester-area police officers seriously injured in vehicle-related accidents during recent years.
In September 2002, Gates Police officer Sung “Sonny” Chung suffered severe head injuries when his police cruiser spun out of control and struck a tree on Buffalo Road.
In January 2002, Officer John Mustico suffered compound fractures to his leg when a car that ran a stop sign on Cuba Place struck his police car.
In June 2001, Officer Russ Igler suffered fractures to his face, ribs, wrist and pelvis when a fleeing bank robber ran him down on Rocket Street.
In April 2001, Officer Felicia Gilchrist suffered two broken legs and a broken knee when she was struck in a hit-and-run accident on Culver Road.
And in January 2000, Officer Scott McLaughlin spent three weeks in a coma after being hit on East Main Street near Clinton Avenue by a driver who had had a seizure.