New York State Attorney General’s Office Detective Michael McCutchan was born in Roslyn, New York and raised in Mineola, New York, along with his three older siblings, Tom, Kathy, and Patti. His parents worked hard to ensure that he and his siblings could attend Catholic grammar school and receive a good education. McCutchan loved sports, playing his guitar, and participating in community service. When he turned 16 years old, he was introduced to the Mineola Junior Fire Department, where he met his future wife’s brother. He and his wife, Andrea, met at a Fire Department softball game and shared an undeniable connection. They were married in 1984.
Upon reading an article in the town paper about the local fire department starting a junior fire department, McCutchan was intrigued and thought it would be a good thing to involve himself in his community. He spent two years there before joining the Mineola Fire Department at 18 years of age. Another two years later, at 20 years old, McCutchan joined the Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps. His love of community service did not end there, as he decided to make it his career. In 1981 at 21 years old, he opted out of college to pursue becoming a New York City Police Officer. He remained with the New York City Police Department until 2001, when he began working for the New York State Attorney General’s Office as a detective. Throughout his career, McCutchan has saved a jumper on the top of the Throgs Neck Bridge, was assigned to the 1992 Democratic National Convention as internal security as well as to the Presidential Security Detail, climbed a drain pipe to rescue two people from the second floor of a burning building, was part of the search and rescue team at the World Trade Center bombing in 1992, and later returned as a retiree in 2001 to be part of the search and rescue team after the horrific events on September 11, 2001.
One night, while doing what McCutchan loved and was born to do, he was involved in a horrific accident. He was helping an unconscious driver whose vehicle was stopped in the middle of a lane on the Tappan Zee Bridge. Upon assessing that the driver was not injured and removing him from his vehicle to safety, placing cones in front of the vehicle, calling 911 to report the accident, and finally attempting to slow and direct traffic, McCutchan was hit by a large box truck that did not see the cones, lights, or McCutchan. He sustained severe injuries to his leg requiring amputation, multiple facial fractures and skull fractures, a brain bleed, six broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a detached retina which led to blindness in that eye, and a fractured scapula. McCutchan spent two months in a medically induced coma in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit of Westchester Medical Center, six weeks in an acute rehab center, six weeks in a subacute rehab center, and has since been going to the Prosthetist three days per week for prosthetic training, as well as attending physical therapy five days per week. McCutchan’s wife, Andrea, was there for him through everything. He would like to thank her, his children, Christopher, Andrew, and Kelly, his children-in-law, Marissa, Nicole, and Dylan, his brother, Tom, and his sister-in-law, Bonnie, for being his support system during his recovery.
Currently, McCutchan spends his time working out, at physical therapy, and has a goal to run a mini triathlon. He also enjoys woodworking and playing the guitar. In the future, he is excited to attend his son’s wedding, walking his wife down the aisle, dancing, and spending time with his family. During his time in rehab, McCutchan was very upset and worried about how he was going to pay his mortgage and support his wife, which he was previously so proud to do. When he got the call from Tunnel to Towers that he was going to receive custom renovations to turn his home into a smart home, as well as his mortgage paid off, he was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude. He states that the Foundation has lifted the burden of his mortgage from his shoulders. He would like others to know to tell your loved ones that you love them, because you never know what could happen at any given moment. He would also like to make it known to slow down and move over every time you see flashing lights, as doing so could prevent a tragedy from occurring. Lastly, when people ask him if he would do it over again, McCutchan says yes with no question because “that is me.”