Suffolk correction officer in serious condition after hit-and-run in pub parking lot, police say
Officials at the scene where a pedestrian was struck in a hit-and-run crash in the parking lot behind Jack McCarthy's pub in Centereach Sunday night. Credit: Christopher Sabella
A Suffolk County Correction officer was in serious but stable condition Monday night after police said he was struck in a hit-and-run crash in a pub parking lot late Sunday night in Centereach, authorities said.
Suffolk County police said Gary Harnig, 48, of Centereach, was standing in the parking lot of Jack McCarthy’s Pub at 2582 Middle Country Rd., when he was struck at about 10 p.m. Harnig was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital.
Harnig works as a correctional officer in Riverhead, and has been with the Suffolk County Sherrif's Office for 20 years, a spokeswoman with the department said Monday night.
Fourth Squad detectives are investigating the incident and said the vehicle that hit Harnig is believed to be a white pickup truck — and that the driver fled south on Lake Grove Boulevard. Police are asking anyone with information regarding the driver or the accident to call Fourth Squad detectives at 631-854-8452 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS.
All calls will remain confidential.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
