A New Hyde Park man was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison for a New Year's Day crash in 2018 that seriously injured a Nassau officer.

Keith Dillion, 34, pleaded guilty in 2019 to aggravated vehicular assault, assault, aggravated driving while intoxicated and tampering with physical evidence

His previous sentencing was overturned by an appellate court, and the new sentencing happened Wednesday in Nassau County court.

Dillon was high on Xanax and drunk with a blood alcohol level three times over the legal limit when he smashed head-on into Officer Willard Gomes' patrol car while the officer was on DWI patrol.

"Keith Dillon was barreling down Glen Cove Road at 70 mph in a pickup truck, his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit and he was impaired by Xanax," says Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. "And the evidence showed that he didn't even step on the brake."

The crash on Glen Cove Road in Greenvale was so severe that Gomes suffered a brain bleed, broken elbow and leg fractures.

He now walks with a permanent limp and cannot fully bend his elbow or touch his face with his left hand.

Gomes said he hoped to recover and return to being a police officer in Nassau County, but he won't be able to fully recover so he's forced to retire.

He made the announcement about retiring just minutes after Dillon was sentenced.

"I loved every day that I put on that uniform, that I went out to serve the community of Nassau County, and it's heartbreaking that I will not be able to do that anymore," Gomes says.

He says he is progressing slowly, but still faces more surgeries.

Gomes made a plea to everyone asking them not to drink and drive.

He says he would not want someone else's life to be ruined but is willing to forgive the man who changed his life forever.

"I do feel sorry for him, he doesn't look well and from what I understand he is suffering from an illness, so I hope that he gets the care that he needs in prison upstate," Gomes says.

Dillon and his lawyer did not speak in court during the sentencing.