By Emerson Clarridge
Newsday
NASSAU, N.Y. — A Nassau police officer was fighting for his life last night after a suspected drunken driver slammed into his police car, just moments after he had pulled over another allegedly drunken driver on the Long Island Expressway.
“We’re all saying a prayer for him,” said Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey outside Nassau University Medical Center, where Second Precinct Police Officer Kenneth Baribault had just come out of surgery to repair a blood clot in the brain. Baribault, who joined the force three years ago, suffered severe head trauma, as well as broken bones in both his upper and lower torso, said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.
Doctors removed part of the 30-year-old officer’s skull to relieve the swelling, according to Mulvey. He had not regained consciousness as of last night and was in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
The accident happened at 5:50 a.m. on the eastbound lane by the Sunnyside Boulevard overpass near Exit 46 and halted traffic for more than five hours.
Baribault had pulled a black Kia sport utility vehicle over to the right side of the road and was back in the patrol car when the driver of a silver Mercedes CLK320 plowed into the cruiser, propelling the police car into the SUV and lifting the back end six feet off the ground, police said.
Witnesses say the Mercedes was traveling at about 75 mph when it hit the patrol car, police said.
Philip Scarfi, a New York City firefighter from Deer Park, saw the accident while traveling on the westbound side of the expressway on his way to work. He stopped and ran across six lanes of the highway and pulled Baribault from his car. “I found him pinned between the seat and the dashboard,” said Scarfi, also a volunteer firefighter in Deer Park. “It was an effort to get him out onto the ground.”
Scarfi began rescue breathing on the unconscious officer and used Baribault’s portable radio to call for help. Baribault was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
The driver of the Mercedes, Rahiem Griffin, 27, who had a suspended license, was also taken to NUMC with minor injuries. He was charged with driving while intoxicated.
The officer’s parents, two sisters and ex-wife, who is the mother of his 6-year-old son, were holding vigil at the intensive care unit, according to Smith.
Mulvey had a conversation with the firefighter and described him as a very humble man. “He just wanted to do what he could to help us,” Mulvey said.
According to police, Griffin was driving with a suspended license. DMV records show his license was suspended in 2000 and 2006 for unpaid driving tickets and a lapse in insurance.
The driver of the SUV, Marcin Bykuc, 25, of Bay Shore, was not injured and was charged with driving while intoxicated.
He will be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead this morning and depending on his injuries, Griffin will also be there. Both men could face additional charges.
A passenger of the SUV, who was not identified, was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
Adam Bykuc, 30, spoke outside the Bay Shore home he shares with his brother. He said his brother called him from jail yesterday morning to tell him he had been arrested and to ask about Baribault’s condition. “He was in shock,” Adam Bykuc said.
Nassau Police Benevolent Association President James Carver said that Baribault’s family told him the officer is a devoted father and likes to work out and keep in shape. Doctors believe his fitness will help him battle his injuries, Carver said. “He’s a tough guy, and that will work to his advantage,” he said.
“You just pull a car over, and he’s trying to get a drunken driver off the roads,” Carver said, “and look who is walking around afterwards.”
Not a first
MARCH 28 Suffolk County Police Officer John Mcaleavey was injured when a woman police said was driving while intoxicated drove through crime-scene tape at an accident scene in Huntington Station. Police officers had stopped her but the woman’s car lurched forward and hit the officer.
JAN. 10 Riverhead Officer John Matlak was struck by a car in Calverton as he got out of his patrol car to investigate a crash.
DEC. 3, 2007 Nassau County Officer Gennaro Ferraro was struck by a man police said was driving while intoxicated as he was inside his patrol car ticketing another driver on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway near Exit 48. Ferraro also was injured in March 2007 when a motorist rear-ended his cruiser while it was parked on the shoulder of the LIE in Jericho.
OCT. 23, 2007 Hempstead Officer Jack Guvrekian was struck by another car in Hempstead as he was driving to an emergency call.
JULY 29, 2007 Four police officers from the Nassau County Third Precinct were injured when they were struck by a car while responding to a fight in New Cassel.
MAY 3, 2007 Nassau County Officer Edwin Martinez was injured when a man police said was driving while intoxicated barreled into his cruiser on the shoulder of the LIE in Syosset, forcing it into a car he had stopped for speeding.
How it happened:
1. Officer Kenneth Baribault stops SUV with suspect DWI. He returns to his patrol car to write ticket.
2. Mercedes Benz slams into the rear of Officer Baribault’s patrol car forcin collision with SUV and lifting patrol car’s rear 6 feet into the air.
3 ...resulting in damage to SUV, patrol car and Mercedes Benz.
Copyright Newsday 2008