Mercy Hospital patient accused of beating security guard into coma faces additional charges

The wife of a Mercy Hospital security guard beaten into a coma stood outside the Nassau County courthouse Wednesday praying for his recovery, after her husband's alleged attacker, a mentally unstable patient, had been arraigned. 

"I think [there’s] a lot of it is just hope and prayer on our part and I’m just not giving up," said Sonya Corolian, surrounded by a dozen family members and friends. "I believe in miracles, and I’m going to stand beside him and continue to pray that he comes out of this."

Her husband, Gardy Coriolan, 63, a retired Rikers Island correction officer, lost 90% of his brain function after he was attacked by Eduard Lopez, 28, of Freeport, on Oct. 16, prosecutors said.

Lopez pleaded not guilty on Tuesday during an arraignment on five felony assault charges, including three new charges — two additional counts of second-degree assault and one more third-degree assault count — for allegedly attacking Gardy Coriolan, who had worked at the hospital for 28 years, and another guard, as they tried to protect a doctor, officials said.

Prosecutors said Lopez had been at Mercy, in Rockville Centre, for emergency psychiatric care. When he became agitated and unruly, the staff tried to administer a sedative to calm him down. Lopez allegedly punched Gardy Coriolan, the father of six children who worked in the Uniondale School system for the last 16 years, family and authorities said.

"Irate and unwilling to accept help from medical professionals, this defendant allegedly violently charged, punched, and kicked at security staff trying to restrain him so that medication could be administered," Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. She said that Gardy Coriolan went into cardiac arrest and collapsed after stepping out of Lopez’s room. His wife said he suffered brain damage when he went without oxygen for an extended period of time.

"Though emergency intervention saved his life, he remains, months after the aggressive encounter, unresponsive and on life support," Donnelly said. "Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones as we prosecute this defendant."

As a result of his injuries, he is being kept alive through a feeding tube, Assistant District Attorney Melissa Yurisak said.

"He’s lost a significant amount of weight and his condition is worsening every day," she said during the court hearing.

Sonya Coriolan blames Mercy Hospital administrators for the assault on her husband.

"I would not be here having this conversation if Mercy Medical had done what they were supposed to do for my husband and his co-workers, which was increase security, giving them the means to protect themselves on a daily basis," she said. 

Catholic Health, the hospital network that manages Mercy, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but previously the medical group denied the allegation, saying "the security team was fully staffed and worked together to subdue the patient."

Coriolan’s wife said the additional charges announced on Tuesday were some comfort, but she said she felt bitter that, after nearly three decades of her husband’s service to the hospital, administrators there had not contacted her.

"No one at Mercy Medical has reached out to check his status after 30 years. No one," she said.

The family continues to sit vigil by his bed. 

"It’s hard to see him like that," Sonya Coriolan said. "He was a big, strong, strapping guy that loved everyone, good heart, Just a great guy overall," she said. "He didn’t deserve what happened to him."

In the meantime, she said that she will continue to come to court.

"Every time that there’s a court case for this individual, we will be here," she said. "I’m going to make sure that my presence is known, now that I have a face attached to the person who tried to murder my husband."

Lopez’s attorney Jenna Spelke declined to comment.