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A state trooper crashed his patrol car into a pedestrian on Route 11in Central Square in 2009, breaking three of the man's bones. A state police investigation blamed the crash on "pedestrian error." In this view looking south, the accident was on the right side of the road.

(David Lassman / The Post-Standard)

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Syracuse, NY -- A state trooper speeding to town court crashed his patrol car into a man walking across a road in Central Square in 2009, breaking three of the man's bones.

A state police investigation blamed the victim. A judge recently called that conclusion "incredulous."



State Court of Claims Nicholas Midey found the state was completely responsible for injuries suffered by Lawrence Perkins in November 2009 when Trooper Thomas Gallery crashed his car into him on Route 11.

A state police investigation determined the primary cause was "pedestrian error" because there was no crosswalk where Perkins walked across the road, Midey wrote.

The judge's dismay was evident during the trial when Trooper Brett Yorgey, who investigated the crash, testified about the conclusion he'd reached.

The judge interrupted Yorgey's testimony, asking for clarification. Was the trooper not at fault for speeding? Midey asked.

"The difference is a pedestrian has an opportunity to decide not to continue," Yorgey testified, according to a transcript of the trial.

"And the operator of a vehicle has an obligation not to speed, correct?" Midey asked."I mean, you issue traffic tickets all the time, correct?"

In a decision issued in February, the judge reiterated that dismay.

"During the trial... the Court found such a conclusion incredulous, and continues to do so at this time," the decision said. "The Court finds absolutely no basis on which to attribute any comparative negligence to" Perkins.

Regardless of whether there's a crosswalk, under state law a motorist has a duty to "keep a reasonably vigilant lookout for pedestrians, to sound his horn... and to operate his vehicle with reasonable care to avoid colliding with a pedestrian on the roadway," the judge wrote.

Gallery didn't have his siren or emergency lights going, and wasn't responding to an emergency, the judge said.

It was the second time in a year that Midey criticized a state police investigation of a trooper's conduct. Last year, the judge awarded $1 million to a man whom a trooper assaulted without justification. The judge found state police did an inadequate investigation into the man's complaint of police brutality.

In the 2009 pedestrian crash, Midey found the state 100 percent liable for the injuries Perkins suffered Nov. 24, 2009. Perkins, now 58, suffered a broken wrist, ankle and foot in the crash, according to a 2009 story in The Post-Standard.

A trial will be held before Midey to determine the amount the state must pay.

Gallery was driving at least 12 mph -- and as much as 30 mph -- over the 30-mph speed limit in the village, across from Reymore Chevrolet, where Perkins was a car salesman, Midey's decision said.

Perkins was walking to his car and was almost across the road about 8 p.m. when Gallery hit him with the side of his trooper's car, Midey wrote.

Gallery testified that he first saw Perkins in the road when the trooper was between 100 and 200 feet away. But Gallery didn't blow his horn or hit his brakes because he thought Perkins had time to get out of the road, the decision said.

Gallery was on his way to Constantia Town Court for an arrest warrant when he crashed into Perkins. The trooper estimated he was going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone.

Gallery testified that the road was wet from rain and that lighting from the car dealership and streetlights caused a glare that affected his vision, the decision said. Perkins and a witness said the road was dry.

Midey found that Gallery's failure to operate his car at a "reasonable and prudent speed" and to do nothing more than observe Perkins when the trooper first spotted Perkins made the state liable.

"Without even considering Trooper Gallery's excessive speed, it is abundantly clear to this court that Trooper Gallery failed to operate his vehicle with reasonable care, and failed to take appropriate steps to avoid this collision with (Perkins), even after he first observed him on the roadway," Midey wrote.

Gallery tried to avoid Perkins just before the collision by swerving to the right, but Perkins ran toward the shoulder at the same time to try to get out of the way, the decision said. After striking Perkins near the fog line, Gallery lost control of his car and it spun into the oncoming lane, crashing into a vehicle with three people inside, the decision said.

Gallery, reached at his home, declined to comment.

The state Attorney General's Office has decided not to appeal Midey's ruling, spokeswoman Michelle Hook said.

Perkins, of Parish, still suffers the effects of the injuries, he said in a brief phone interview last month. He's represented by Syracuse lawyer Robert Bennett, who declined to comment.

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.