By Thomas Montana
A Nassau County police officer has been cleared in an accident in which he hit a pedestrian with his off-duty vehicle.
The Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI) released a report on August 19 of an incident that the officer struck thed woman who died a month later. The report also noted that there were no signs of intoxication, although he was not administered a sobriety test.
On November 28, 2022, at approximately 1:54 p.m., Timothy Vitiello, an off-duty NCPD officer, was driving in his personal vehicle in the parking lot of a shopping center located at 50 Veterans Memorial Highway in Commack. Vitiello made a left turn and struck Teresa Gucciardo, 85, who was walking in the parking lot. Vitiello called 911 and Gucciardo was transferred to a local hospital, where she died from her injuries on December 22, 2022.
Based on audio recordings reviewed by OSI, on November 28, 2022, at 1:54 p.m., Officer Vitiello called 911 and said, “I just hit a pedestrian, I didn’t see her. We need an ambulance here. She’s breathing still.” He told operators he was in front of a Michaels store, in the parking lot. When the operator asked if he was an EMT, Vitiello responded that he was a cop.
Gucciardo arrived at South Shore University Hospital’s Emergency Room at 2:35 p.m. She was admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), intubated, and diagnosed with an open left ankle fracture, posterior scalp laceration, and traumatic brain injury.
According to the report, Gucciardo became stable and was downgraded from SICU to the main floor on November 30, 2022. On December 1, 2022, she had the surgery to fix the open fracture of her left ankle. On December 3, 2022, Gucciardo was re-intubated and upgraded back to SICU due to increasing lethargy and increased brain hemorrhage in CT imaging.
On December 8, 2022, records show that Gucciardo underwent a second surgery on her ankle because the prior surgery had failed and the ankle was again dislocated. The next day, she was extubated successfully, but remained on ventilation support.
On December 15, 2022, records show that Gucciardo’s respiratory status worsened and Gucciardo’s daughter expressed concern that her breathing appeared labored; she felt her mother was suffering. After discussion with the doctors, she signed a do not resuscitate order (DNR). On December 22, 2022, at 8:24 p.m., Gucciardo was pronounced dead.
Suffolk police did not recreate the crash scene, but, rather, detectives observed surveillance video and noted there was no evidence of speeding, reckless driving or driving under the influence.
The OSI, after extensive analysis, determined that Vitiello that the evidence in the investigation does not meet the standard the courts have set for proof of
dangerous speeding or other “seriously blameworthy conduct.” Therefore, no criminal charges were warranted to Vitiello.
However, the officer was never administered a Portable Breath Test (PBT), according to the report. While there is no evidence that the officer driving the car was impaired by drugs or alcohol, OSI recommends that all officers and supervisors administer PBTs in any vehicular crashes involving on-duty or off-duty police officers as close to the time of the collision as practicable to ensure the most accurate results.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the NCPD for comment, but did not hear back as of press time.
— Additional reporting by Hank Russell