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22-Year-Old Woman Allegedly Hit by Drunk Off-Duty NYPD Cop Dies

What to Know

  • Three people in their 20s were taken to a hospital in critical condition after an off-duty NYPD cop allegedly DWI hit them on the Van Wyck
  • The driver of the car that was hit, 22-year-old Vanessa Raghubar, died Monday. Her sister and sister's boyfriend remain critical
  • The officer, Neville Smith, is also at a hospital with injuries; he is facing multiple charges

The 22-year-old driver rear-ended by an allegedly drunk off-duty NYPD cop on the Van Wyck Expressway over the weekend has died, officials said Monday. 

Vanessa Raghubar, of Elmont, was driving a 2004 Honda near Rockaway Boulevard around 4 a.m. Sunday when authorities say police officer Neville Smith, 32, rear-ended Raghubar's vehicle, sending it into a tree and a pole. 

Raghubar had two passengers in her car, her 21-year-old sister Maria and Maria's 20-year-old boyfriend, Justin Harricharran. Police say all three victims sustained traumatic injuries. Maria and her boyfriend remained in critical condition at a hospital Monday. 

Smith, who was not on duty at the time of the crash, was arrested two hours after the accident on charges of vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated and refusal to take a breath test, the NYPD said. 

Vaneesa's aunt, Esther Mongul, said the family waited at the hospital all day and night Sunday, hoping for a recovery. 

"She's bleeding everywhere, her face is swollen and so many tubes," said mother Janice Perry. "All we can do is pray and ask God to give her a speedy recovery but it never happened." 

"They tried to resuscitate, she came back once, they tried a second time, but it didn't happen," said Mongul.

Maria, meanwhile, is recovering after undergoing surgery Monday. 

"She has a long road ahead of her," said cousin Nadira Nandlall. "We don't know, we are just praying she'll be OK." 

Vanessa would have graduated from York College in two months, and had a job interview scheduled for Friday. 

The Queens district attorney's office said Monday Smith was being treated at a hospital and no arraignment had been scheduled. The nature of his injuries weren't clear, and it also wasn't known if he had retained a lawyer. 

Prosecutors declined to say whether they anticipated upgraded charges stemming from Raghubar's death. 

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