BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- New York State Trooper Salvatore Mattina, a 10-year veteran of the force, was riding his state police motorcycle on Sept. 13 in Niagara County when a car failed to yield and crashed into him. After multiple surgeries and nearly a month in the hospital, Mattina is finally home.
Even though he still can’t support his own weight on one leg, he was able to graduate from rehab Wednesday and will now continue recovering at home.
“He just plowed through it all, like a trooper,” said one of Mattina’s doctors.
He suffered organ damage, internal bleeding and multiple broken bones.
“At least three surgeries over that first ten days that he was here. You know, any injured patient that's on a motorcycle that gets hit by a car, you can imagine the car wins," said Jeffrey Brewer, ECMC chief of surgery. "So, there's a lot of trauma that's taken out of the body, so those surgeries were mainly to repair broken bones."
Doctors said it took over a week to get Mattina stable enough to send him to rehab.
“When you first get down to the rehab unit, the medical rehab unit, you're a little concerned about what kind of progress you're going to make, given the limitations that he had,” said Dr. Mary Welch, chief of medical rehab services.
Brewer said a complete recovery will take months.
"That doesn't even touch on the emotional and mental aspects of a multiple injuries like this," he said.
When Mattina exited the hospital Wednesday morning, tears, smiles, and laughs graced the ECMC staff, state troopers, family and friends that lined the halls.
On his lap, his daughter was wearing her very own state trooper uniform.
“With all the pain and everything he's going through, he sounded like Sam, and this kind of attitude is going to get you through what he's about to go through for the next — who knows how many years of recovery," said NYSP Captain David Martek.
Mattina's future and returning to the line of duty are uncertain, however, Martek said he hopes his friend puts on the badge once again, if that's what Mattina wants.
“His life is going to go on, he is alive, this is a great day to rejoice,” Martek said.
Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
