Cop in pedestrian fatal: 'Never saw' victim

A Nassau County police officer who was speeding when he struck and killed a pedestrian in Bellmore more than a year ago testified Tuesday that, though he was on duty, he was not responding to an emergency call at the time of the crash.

At a hearing to determine whether to suspend or revoke Officer Ernest Thompson's driver's license, he said he did not see Sherry Lang, 63, walking across Farmers Avenue, at Merrick Road, when he drove his cruiser into her on the rainy night of April 16, 2011.

"I never saw the victim," Thompson told Sheryl Cohen, administrative law judge who presided over the Department of Motor Vehicle's hearing in Garden City.

Thompson said he was not on his way to an emergency when the crash occurred, but did not say where he was going or why he was breaking the speed limit.

No summons was issued and no charges were filed against Thompson, 34, of Farmingdale. He continues working as a patrolman in the Seventh Precinct, a police department spokesman, said Tuesday.

Cohen said she will issue her decision in two to three months.

Meanwhile, Lang's husband, Howard Lang, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in January against Thompson and Nassau County, alleging that Thompson was "driving at too rapid, excessive and dangerous speed."

The crash occurred a few blocks from Lang's Bellmore house.

At the crash scene, Thompson told his supervisor, he was driving at the posted speed limit of 35 mph, which was noted on the police report. Tuesday, Thompson testified he was driving about 45 mph.

However, Thompson was actually driving about 54 mph at the time of impact, 19 miles above the posted speed limit, Det. John Lapine of Nassau's vehicle crimes and reconstruction section of the homicide squad testified Tuesday.

Lapine testified Tuesday that Lang's blood alcohol level was 0.14 percent, an assertion her sons said was untrue.

"It sounds like to me they're trying to say she was at fault, partly. I believe that is total nonsense," said one of her sons, Brent Lang, 34, of Commack. "It makes me feel disgusted, angry, frustrated."

Thomas Cascione, the attorney representing Sherry Lang's estate, said the 0.14 percent referred to the test results conducted on fluids in Lang's eyes, which release alcohol at a slower rate than blood.

Deputy County Attorney Karen Taggart, who represented Thompson, did not return several calls for comment.

It's not known whether the police tested Thompson for drugs and alcohol. The Nassau police department, County Attorney John Ciampoli and the medical examiner's office would not discuss the case. Spokesmen for all three county agencies issued a blanket statement, declining to comment because of the pending lawsuit.