A Year After Accident, Officer Returns
Sgt. Dan Roman of the East Hampton Town Police Department said Friday that he did not want to dwell on his May 15, 2015, brush with death — a motorcycle accident in Montauk that left him with multiple injuries requiring seven surgeries and nearly a year of healing and rehabilitation. Rather, it is the future and his excitement about returning to the force after 54 weeks that has him talking.
Doctors cleared him to return to full duty on May 31.
“I feel 100 percent,” he said, sitting behind his desk at headquarters.
He credits his conditioning at the time of the crash as being a key to his survival and recovery. A regular gym goer, he is a competitive amateur athlete and self-described avid ice hockey player.
“One of the biggest things that helped me recover was that I wanted to come back to work,” he said Friday. “I really enjoy this job. The camaraderie with the guys is significant. You miss it.”
A key player in his arduous rehabilitation was his physical therapist, Rachel Lys of East Hampton Physical Therapy, who has an office in downtown Montauk. Sergeant Roman is a resident of the hamlet. “She is unbelievable,” he said, and his wife, Julia Prince, “was wonderful.”
His father, Lee Roman, stayed with them for a time to help out, moving in to lend a hand with daily chores and trips to the doctor. “It was tough on my family,” he said. He has two children, Hudson, now 6, and Emily, 16. “Not being able to help them in their daily routine,” he said, was one of the most difficult things he had to learn to accept.
While the support of coworkers, friends, and relatives helped him get through his difficult time, the reaction of total strangers may have touched him the most. “I got letters from people who didn’t even live in Montauk, but were there that day. A young girl I had never met wrote me a letter, wishing me a speedy recovery. It was pretty special.”
A 15-year veteran of the force, he turns 47 in a few days. He is serving the department five days a week in the role of a duty sergeant, a job in which his years of experience can help a force that is becoming increasingly younger. Eventually, as lieutenants in the department change positions or retire, he is hoping to fill their shoes.