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“And as you approached, you didn’t see the light turn yellow, then red?”
“I … I guess I didn’t. The last I looked it was green.”
“And when was that?”
“I don’t know. Like everybody else. You glance up. It’s green. You keep going.” A shrug. “The signal? Did anybody check to make sure it was working okay?”
“Oh, yeah, Traffic checked it out. It was working. Could you have been looking around, concentrating on the call?”
“I was listening, you know, but not really concentrating.”
Garner lifted an eyebrow. “You climbed out and jumped through those flames to get to the SUV. Took some balls.”
“Wasn’t as bad as it looked.”
In fact, it wasn’t even a decision. He’d rolled through the open window of his car and, seeing the flames from the ruptured gas tank of the SUV he’d hit, just instinctively charged the vehicle to help the occupants, though the only one—the driver—was by then out and lying on the pavement.
“All right, good, Ron. Now, the positive drug test. That sets off alarm bells, you understand. Do you do recreational drugs?”
“No, never. Well, to be honest, I tried pot once. Hated it. It was years ago.”
Garner said, “I smoked some in college. Just made me drowsy. Fell asleep in English—which had this professor that made you sleepy anyway. That happen to you?”
“Don’t really remember. I think it did.”
“But no drugs since then?”
“No.”
“Alcohol?”
“Wine or beer some. Two, three times a week.”
“Now, describe how you think the fentanyl got into your system.”
“As near as I can figure, I ran a dealer collar. Biggy with the M-42s in East New York. When we cleared the place I found one of his lieutenants, he was lying face down, and, you know, unresponsive. I rolled him over, administered Narcan and started chest compression. But he was gone.”
“You didn’t wear gloves?”
“I know it’s procedure, but I wanted to move fast. I thought I could save him.” He shook his head. “His crew, they knew he was there, dying, and they didn’t do anything. Not a thing.”
“At least you put the assholes away.”
“Yeah … This does happen, right?”
“What’s that?”
“Failing a drug test because you touched somebody at a bust?”
“Oh, yeah. The board’s been here before. How would you describe your physical state?”
“A stiff neck.”
“Oh, not from the accident. In general.”
“Good.”
“No injuries?”
