Guilty Plea in Crash That Injured Police Officer Is Years in the Making
A Rochester man has pleaded guilty to vehicular assault for an accident in 2004 that left a police officer critically injured.
James Extale was driving drunk with a revoked license when he struck Officer Nicole Cookingham in November of 2004. She suffered a leg fracture and a broken pelvis.
Extale was 33 at the time and on probation from another felony DWI conviction.
Extale was in court for these charges twice before, and pleaded guilty Thursday, ending the eight-year legal battle.
Extale faces 3 1/2 to seven years in jail. He has been in jail throughout the appeals process.