On Thursday February 16, 2012, at approximately 6:00 PM, Sullivan County Deputy Sheriff Richard Morgan was preceding east bound in his marked patrol car on Sullivan Avenue (Old 17) in Ferndale. As he emerged from under the ST-17 overpass, his vehicle was struck by ice and snow that had been thrown by a state DOT plow truck from the roadway above.

The falling debris blew out the patrol car’s windshield causing cuts to the deputy’s face and lodged shards of glass in his eyes. Deputy Morgan was rushed to Catskill Regional Medical Center in another Sheriff’s vehicle that arrived on the scene shortly after the accident.

Just before arriving at the hospital’s entrance, the vehicle transporting the injured deputy had to engage its four wheel drive and detour off road, around several downed utility lines, in order to reach the emergency room. The utility lines had been knocked down by a car that ran off the road in a separate accident. Deputy Morgan was treated in the emergency room and released several hours later. He is expected to make a full recovery.