Southold Town police officer Ryan Creighton was presented with the 2024 Southold Town Police Officer of the Year award by the Kiwanis Club of Southampton for his quick-thinking response to a serious early morning car accident that could have left the driver dead.
Early on the morning of May 12, 2024, a pickup truck carrying three young men traveling eastbound on Route 48 crossed over into the westbound lane near Kenneys Road and crashed into a large tree.
At 5:43 a.m. Southold police were alerted to the crash and Mr. Creighton was among the first to respond to the scene, according to an interview with Southold Police Chief Steve Grattan.
“These young men were in that vehicle without any emergency personnel present, until [someone] observed it and called, and they had pretty serious injuries,” Chief Grattan said.
Officer Creighton, he said, “realized that there was a traumatic leg injury on the driver, so he put a tourniquet on that leg to stop the bleeding,” before the man was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital.
A law enforcement official who spoke to the surgeon was told that “if that tourniquet did not go on that young man’s leg, he may very well have succumbed to his injuries, because the bleeding was pretty bad,” according to the chief, who recently launched a new Southold Police Department Facebook page that shared news of the awards ceremony.
Driver Nicholas Grathwohl, 21, of Peconic, was charged with alleged driving while intoxicated. The disposition of the charges could not immediately be verified, but Chief Grattan said the young man spent many weeks in the hospital and has been released. “I hear he’s making incredible progress,” he added.
Mr. Creighton was hired as a seasonal officer in 2023, and became a full-time officer in 2024.
“He’s been incredible,” the chief said. “I’m very proud of him and his accomplishments. In addition to receiving this award, he is going to be recognized as our top DWI enforcement officer this spring.
“For a young officer he’s certainly committed and really wants to make a difference in the community. And I think that’s always been his personality.”
Mr. Creighton said this week that winning the award was a humbling experience.
“It definitely was a surprise,” he said. I was very humbled because there are people in the department that make sacrifices every single day. And I was just thankful that I was in this position.”
He said he is “trying to be the best I can and make the most out of everything that’s given to me, and to kind of be a servant to my community.”
Chief. Grattan said Mr. Creighton’s future is bright.
“We’re very fortunate to have him on our team, and I see some very good things for him in the future.”