Joseph J. Gallagher

Trooper Joseph J. Gallagher, 38, died on March 26, 2021, three years after being struck by a distracted driver.

On December 18, 2017, Trooper Gallagher was hit while he was assisting with a disabled vehicle on the Long Island Expressway in Suffolk County.

Trooper Gallagher joined the State Police in 2014. He served with the U.S. Coast Guard prior to his service with the State Police.

He is survived by his wife Laura, a son, and a daughter.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the family’s mortgage in July 2021 in honor of Independence Day.

The idea of our mortgage being paid off and the house being ours forever is one that is hard to wrap my head around.  I do not have words to express how relieved it makes me to know I do not have to worry about the mortgage and I can focus on my kids during these difficult times.  My daughter was too little at the time of the accident to remember her father but my son has memories of running around our house with him.  We may not be able to create new memories with my husband, but this house helps us treasure every memory we made… Now we know that those cherished memories, and the home my husband helped create for my children, will be ours forever.  We will always be grateful and cannot thank you enough! – Laura Gallagher