Long Island Cop Pulls Over Drunk Driver, Gets Hit By Another Drunk Driver

A Nassau County cop who had just pulled over a car for drunk driving early Sunday morning was hit by another drunk driver on the Long Island Expressway. Newsday reports 30-year-old police officer Kenneth Baribault "suffered severe head trauma, as well as broken bones in both his upper and lower torso" and underwent surgery for a blood clot.

After pulling over a Kia SUV's for drunk driving, Baribault went back into his patrol car when a Mercedes CLK320 rammed into the patrol car and pushed it into the SUV. From WABC 7:"Witnesses say the back of the police car probably lifted six feet off the ground upon impact. The back of that patrol car almost meets where the driver was sitting. The rear wheel on the driver's side is touching the seat where the driver sits in that patrol car."

Off-duty FDNY firefighter Philip Scarfi was on the LIE when the accident occurred and crossed six lanes of traffic, "[hopped] over a four-foot concrete median" with his emergency kit. Scarfi said Baribault was "unconscious, wedged between the dashboard and front seat and not breathing ...His face was blue." Scarfi said the Mercedes' driver, Rahiem Griffin, offered to help (but the firefighter picked someone else to help stabilize the cop).

Griffin, who was driving with a suspended license, was charged with DWI, as was the Kia's driver, Marcin Bykuc.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on May 19, 2008 8:49 AM

Comments [rss]

jaja007

Sucks to be you, Barney Fife.

abcohen

Its all sooo terrible.

Dave Hogarty

Nassau cops make way more $$ than NYPD cops, but it's obviously hazard pay, b/c LI residents are drunk-driving a-holes. WTF?

PBRK

Even worse is the alcohol lobby is already trying to fight the installation of breathalyzers in car ignitions.

drewo

Very tragic. And this kind of accident is tragically commonplace. The (second) drunk driver is so trashed that he/she is only able to follow red taillights on the highway. But the taillights they are "following" end up being the lights of parked cars (the cop and his first suspect) along the shoulder, and they plow right into the parked vehicles - often at highway speeds.

If you have to pull over on the highway, especially at night, try to get out of and away from your parked vehicle.

Pitch

This is what happens when people underestimate the severity of drinking. It's really sad that more & more often we live in a culture that sees binge drinking as a positive thing, pushing anything in moderation to the side. Beleive it or not, a glass or two of wine is usually enough to feel happy. If we don't change this trend towards the excessive, we'll be looking forward to a lot more of these type of accidents, as well as more cases of severe health problems that years of excessive drinking cause.

I really hope the cop is okay. The judge should set an example of these guys to help ensure further accidents like this do not happen.

Chosun

Holy crap, that's awful.

donner

What a crappy story to start the week.

BMMDan

know what else is frustrating? trying to decipher this:

"a Kia SUV's"

sad, sad story.

smitty

Stay classy, Long Island!

aveB4life

kudos to the fdny firefighter.

Jen Chung

This accident is so terrible--the doctors had to remove part of the cop's skull in order to relieve swelling. And witnesses said the Mercedes was going 75 MPH--that driver was drunk AND had a suspended license. So frustrating to think about.

Bottomless Chips

Yet, we spend billions of dollars more chasing after heroin and pot dealers.

Alcohol can be just, if not more, damaging.

I hope both these guys get real jail time. Alas, you can kill someone when drunk in this country and get out in a few months.