Officer Critically Injured After Being Struck On Verrazano Bridge

A Bridge and Tunnel officer was left in critical condition after being struck by a Nissan Maxima on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Sunday.

Thomas Choi, 61, was removing the orange barrels that had stopped traffic during weekend work on the Brooklyn-bound lower level, when a female driver from Bayonne, NJ, hit him at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.

The NY Post reports:

A 10-year MTA veteran, Choi, who was on the Brooklyn-bound side of the bridge at the time, crashed into the vehicle’s windshield and fell to the ground.

The driver of a Nissan Maxima stopped and has been talking to police. She and her four passengers were not injured.

Choi suffered head injuries and was listed in critical but stable condition at Staten Island University Hospital, officials said.

CBS News adds that Choi’s colleagues have come together to show their support:

“It’s a very dangerous occupation,” [MTA Bridge and Tunnel Special Operations Director Daniel DeCrescenzo] said, “so when you see the construction workers on the side of the road, or Bridges and Tunnels personnel – be it maintenance or officers – that’s why we have red and green arrows. That’s why we have barrels and cones for traffic control.”

As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, officers from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority were keeping a vigil at the hospital for Choi, 61.

“We’re going to have an officer here as long as he’s here,” DeCrescenzo said.