Suffolk Det. Timothy Thrane and Nassau Officer Alexa Crimaudo receive Theodore Roosevelt Police Awards

Two police officers — the Suffolk one called a miracle and the Nassau one brave — were honored Thursday morning at the annual Theodore Roosevelt Police Awards ceremony in Oyster Bay.

As Suffolk Det. Timothy Thrane accepted his award for overcoming a life-threatening crash, he took a moment to thank the doctor who helped save his life.

"The word ‘miracle’ is used very loosely sometimes ... he’s a miracle," Dr. James Vosswinkel, chief of trauma surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital, told Newsday after the Sagamore Hill ceremony.

Vosswinkel, also the medical director of the Suffolk County Police Department, treated the officer after he was struck by a drunken driver in Yaphank while directing traffic at the scene of an crash in 2021.

On Nov. 2 of that year, Thrane, then a police officer, was rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening brain hemorrhage, a broken arm and hand, and every ligament in his neck and knee torn after the driver of a Chevrolet pickup crashed into a parked GMC Yukon, causing it to fishtail and spin into him.

Adding to the trauma, his body’s immune system began to attack his lungs, and he spent nearly four weeks in a medically induced coma. He required a tracheostomy through his neck so he could breathe.

Just a month later on Dec. 3, Thrane was released from the hospital, and then spent six days at a Port Jefferson rehabilitation center before being cleared to complete his recovery at his Suffolk home.

But the detective didn’t receive his award Thursday from the Theodore Roosevelt Association to a standing ovation from his fellow officers and family solely because of his recovery — it was what came after, too.

"It would’ve been very easy for you to take that three-quarter disability pension at that point, and sail off into the sunset," Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina told Thrane at the ceremony. "But that’s not what you did."

Less than a year after the traumatic injuries, Thrane returned to the police force in October 2022.

"Not only did you come back to work, but you excelled at work. You did so well that you got promoted to detective, and you’ve thrived," Catalina said.

"It wasn’t an easy road to get back to work," Thrane said. "I love my job. I can’t imagine doing anything else."

This year's Nassau police award recipient is Officer Alexa Crimaudo, who joined the force in 2021. In July 2024, she was diagnosed with stage II lymphoma and despite undergoing chemotherapy, she only missed eight days of service. 

"She got chemotherapy, and then she came to work. One day out on the day she got chemotherapy and if she could’ve came that day, she would’ve," said Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.

Crimaudo began chemotherapy in August and completed her treatment in November.

"I was extremely humbled when they asked me [to accept the award]," Crimaudo said. "The police department really pulled through, and whenever I needed something, they were always there."

"Going through what I went through, you meet a lot of survivors, and it’s amazing to hear their journey and stories. That’s really motivated me to keep going."

In its 31st year, the Theodore Roosevelt Police Awards are given to officers across the country who have persevered through illness, disability or physical challenge, and have an outstanding record of police work.

The award is named after the 26th U.S. president, who survived an assassination attempt on the campaign trail in 1912 and gave a speech to thousands with the assassin’s bullet freshly lodged inside him.