A New Hyde Park man and Coast Guard veteran Keith Dillon has pleaded guilty to a 2018 drunk driving incident that seriously injured a Nassau County police officer.

Dillon, 33, was intoxicated and impaired by Xanax when he drove his 2014 Dodge Ram onto the center median at 70 miles per hour southbound on Glen Cove Road in Greenvale and eventually crashed into an unmarked police car, driven by Nassau Police Officer Willard Gomes early on Jan. 1, 2018, officials said. Gomes suffered serious injuries.

Dillon pleaded guilty Tuesday at the Nassau County Courthouse to aggravated vehicular assault, assault in the second degree, aggravated driving while intoxicated and tampering with physical evidence.

He is expected to be sentenced to 6 to 12 years in prison on Oct. 19. 

The collision pushed the police car about 50 feet backward and rotated it 180 degrees, according to the district attorney’s office.

Dillon’s car flipped over and came to a stop about 30 to 40 feet away from Gomes’ car, according to the district attorney’s office.

Cocaine and Xanax were found in Dillon’s car following the crash, according to the district attorney’s office. 

“Officer Gomes’ life was forever changed by the defendant’s reckless decisions to drive at excessive speeds while extremely intoxicated and high,” said District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “More than four years after this horrific head-on crash, Officer Gomes continues to fight for his recovery every day. No one should have to suffer as he has. We continue to wish Officer Gomes the best and thank him for his heroic service to Nassau County.”

Dillon previously pleaded guilty on May 13, 2019, and was sentenced but an appellate court decision overturned the conviction before the case was returned and prosecuted again by the Nassau County District Attorney’s office. 

Gomes suffered a brain bleed, broken elbow and leg fractures which required multiple surgeries to repair.

Today, he walks with a permanent limp and cannot fully bend his left elbow or touch his face with his left hand. Gomes will require additional surgeries to regain mobility in his left arm. Dillon suffered a fractured ankle in the crash. 

Dillon apologized to Gomes during his sentencing in 2019, expressing his regret for “selfish, reckless actions”, according to Newsday.