Suffolk County police officer charged in hit-and-run of motorcyclist

RONKONKOMA, N.Y. (WABC) -- A Suffolk County police officer is under arrest in the hit-and-run of a motorcyclist in Ronkonkoma.

Police say 40-year-old Charles Giardinello was riding his motorcycle eastbound on Portion Road east of Avenue B, when the motorcycle hit a westbound pickup truck that was attempting to turn left into a parking lot.

It happened around 7:25 p.m. on Sunday. The truck fled the scene northbound on Avenue B.

44-year-old Thomas O'Neill, an officer assigned to the Community Response Bureau, turned himself in on Monday. He has been with the department since 2003.

He was off-duty at the time of the crash and is now suspended without pay. He submitted voluntarily to a blood test which will be analyzed for alcohol and drugs.

Giardinello was critically injured and remains at Stony Brook University Hospital.

O'Neill is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury.