Man is convicted in death of officer struck by another driver

A suburban New York man was convicted Thursday in the death of a police officer responding to a crash on the Long Island Expressway even though the officer was struck and killed by another motorist.

A Nassau County jury found 28-year- old James Ryan guilty of 10 of 13 charges, but acquitted him of the most serious one — aggravated vehicular homicide. He was convicted on charges including aggravated criminally negligent homicide, vehicular manslaughter, drunken driving and reckless endangerment.

Ryan faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 9.

Prosecutors said Nassau County Officer James Olivieri’s October 2012 death was Ryan’s fault because his reckless driving caused a chain-reaction crash. Ry- an’s Toyota hit a BMW on the Long Island Expressway after Ryan spent a night of drinking in New York City. He then was hit by another car after stopping 1,500 yards down the highway. A few minutes later, an SUV driver smashed into Ryan’s car before hitting Olivieri, who was out of his patrol vehicle talking to Ryan at the time.

District Attorney Madeline Singas said the jury, which began deliberating Tuesday, “delivered a message and that message is that a person is criminally responsible for the outcomes of their actions. In this case when you drive drunk and you drive recklessly then you are criminally responsible for the outcome.”

Ryan had been free on bail but was remanded to custody pending sentencing. His attorney, Marc Gann, said after the verdict that he intends to appeal.