Support Officer Gallagher in His Recovery

Officer Brendon Gallagher ( our daughter’s boyfriend). has served as a Suffolk County police officer for nearly 3 years now. In that short time, he has been highly decorated, having received eight awards, including two department recognitions, a Purple Heart Medal, a Combat Gold Medal, and Cop of the Year. He also served in the Army National Guard for 10 years and was deployed in 2016-2017. Officer Gallagher is nothing short of a true American hero.

Unfortunately, on the evening of January 5th, 2025, Officer Gallagher was conducting a routine traffic stop on the westbound Long Island Expressway, when another vehicle sped past him at a speed of 95-100 mph. Officer Gallagher began pursuing the vehicle, and ultimately the driver tried to speed away, lost control of his vehicle, began to fishtail, and struck Officer Gallagher's squad car multiple times, causing the police vehicle to leave the roadway and strike a tree.

It would then take emergency services more than 30 minutes, and a tremendous effort by all involved, to extract Officer Gallagher from the vehicle. He was then airlifted to Stony Brook Hospital with life threatening injuries.

When he arrived to the hospital, thankfully a team of medical professionals had already been assembled and were prepared to save his life. Officer Gallagher was in a severe state of shock with critical injuries. He had split his abdominal wall entirely across his pelvis, completely through the layers of muscle and skin. This was an injury one of his doctors, Dr. Vosswinkel, has gone on record to say he "has not seen in his 23 year career on someone who has lived."

If that wasn't bad enough, doctors soon realized Officer Gallagher also had a tear in his aorta, the largest artery in the body responsible for carrying blood from the heart to all other organs. Luckily, they were able to place a stent, restoring blood flow.

After many hours of surgery and over 25 units of blood product, Brendon's doctors were able to stabilize him and move him to the ICU on a ventilator. However, the next few days are critical to see what his recovery will be.

Donations will assist Brendon with his very long road to recovery. Thank you to all who continue to donate and support…