Pelham Manor Cop Continues Recovery; Hospital Release Expected Soon

A Pelham Manor police officer who received serious head  injuries after being hit by a car earlier this month has been upgraded from the intensive care unit and will begin rehabilitation soon.

Pelham Manor Police Chief Al Mosiello said that Officer Mike Tillistrand, 28, is now speaking and is expected to be released from Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx to begin rehabilitation.

“He’s still a little bit groggy,” Mosiello said. “He could begin rehab this week. How long he’ll be in rehab? I have no idea. It depends on how much progress he makes.”

Tillistrand, 28, of Yorktown, after a car driven by Jillian Ruggiero, 27, struck him near the intersection of Boston Post Road and Edgewood Avenue. Tillistrand was assisting another officer with a traffic stop at the time of the accident.

Police have yet to release any additional details into the accident. Mosiello said the Pelham Manor Police Department is continuing its internal investigation and the Westchester County Police Department has yet to submit its report on the accident reconstruction.

Charges have yet to be filed in connection to the incident.

Mosiello said the the police department’s morale has been picked up with the news of Tillistrand’s recovery.

“They were somber that this occurred, but everybody is pretty optimistic at this point,” Mosiello said. “Everybody has seen him make progress in the last two weeks and I think everyone is optimistic that he is going to make a recovery.”