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Long Island Officer Severely Injured in Funeral Escort Crash Leaves Hospital for Inpatient Rehab

Doctors called his survival after a rare spine-to-skull separation extraordinary, prompting officials to stress safer driving.

Overview

  • Michael Hyland, 53, exited Stony Brook University Hospital on Thursday after 29 days in the ICU, part of it on life support.
  • His injuries included a separation of the spine from the skull that his trauma surgeon described as an internal decapitation.
  • The Oct. 6 crash occurred in Lindenhurst while he escorted a funeral on a motorcycle and was struck by a pickup truck, which Nassau County’s police commissioner characterized as an accident.
  • He was greeted by colleagues with applause as he transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation program to continue a long recovery.
  • Police leaders used the case to urge drivers to slow down and operate vehicles more carefully on Long Island roads.