New Hampshire – by Mark Hayward
MANCHESTER — A Manchester police officer accused of a hit-and-run passed out in the lobby of a courthouse Tuesday, minutes before he was scheduled to plead guilty in the case.
Court bailiffs at Hillsborough County Superior Court-North and bystanders assisted Steven Cornacchia before emergency medical workers strapped him to a gurney and took him away in an ambulance.
A Manchester patrol officer of four years, Cornacchia was off duty when he allegedly struck a woman with his black Ford Mustang when she was crossing a downtown intersection about 1:20 a.m. on May 14. A friend of the woman recorded the license plate, and Cornacchia was eventually arrested on a felony charge of conduct after an accident.
Police said the woman suffered minor injuries.
Cornacchia was scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge. A criminal conviction would likely end his police career.
He collapsed in the lobby outside the second-floor courtroom.
His eyes opened after several minutes, and several bailiffs tried to prevent him from getting up.
He eventually did so.
Cornacchia is on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the court case, police spokesman Lt. Brian O’Keefe said.
mhayward@unionleader.com
Where are the toxicology reports on this guy?
Sounds like a staged drama to me. We’re supposed to feel sorry for the murderous pig because he feigned fainting.
Wake him up with smelling salts and hang him from a tree.
“He collapsed in the lobby outside the second-floor courtroom.”
Poor thing.
He obviously was ‘in fear for his (miserable, worthless) life’.