An NYPD highway officer has died after being hit by an alleged drunken driver as he investigated a crash scene on the Long Island Expressway early Tuesday, officials say. NBC New York’s John Chandler reports.
What to Know
- A 32-year-old NY woman has been charged in a 13-count indictment with aggravated manslaughter, aggravated criminally negligent homicide and other offenses in Officer Anastasios Tsakos' death
- Tsakos, a 43-year-old NYPD veteran and father of two, was directing traffic at an earlier crash site when Jessica Beauvais allegedly hit him, flinging him nearly 40 feet in the air, before speeding off
- Police say Beauvais later admitted drinking and smoking pot before getting behind the wheel that day; she also apologized after her arrest, saying, "I'm sorry because I hit him and that he's dead"
A 32-year-old Long Island woman has been charged in a 13-count grand jury indictment with aggravated manslaughter, aggravated criminally negligent homicide and impaired driving, among other offenses, in the hit-and-run death of a veteran NYPD cop who was assisting at an accident scene last month.
Jessica Beauvais was allegedly driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license when she hit NYPD highway officer Anastasios Tsakos on the Long Island Expressway early on April 27. Tsakos was directing traffic at the scene of an earlier deadly accident that day when Beauvais allegedly hit him as he walked to his car.
Tsakos, 43, was hit with such force that he was thrown nearly 40 feet in the air, prosecutors said Monday. Beauvais, of Hempstead, allegedly fled the scene.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
She allegedly did not stop or slow down after striking Tsakos and continued to travel several exits before taking the Horace Harding Expressway off-ramp. That’s when her vehicle jumped the curb and mounted the sidewalk, where police
surrounded her vehicle. Beauvais allegedly tried to flee the scene again, putting her car in reverse and ramming the police vehicle behind her once before stopping.
Beauvais was then taken into custody. Police say she admitted drinking and smoking pot before getting behind the wheel that late April morning. A tearful Beauvais apologized shortly after her arrest as she was led from a police station in handcuffs, telling reporters, “I’m sorry because I hit him and that he’s dead.”
Local
According to the charges, Beauvais allegedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.15 when she was tested two hours after the crash, nearly double the legal limit.
She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charges against her. Beauvais is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment later this month. Information on a possible attorney for her wasn't immediately available.
Tsakos, a 14-year NYPD veteran, was mourned by thousands at a wake and funeral last week. He is survived by his wife and his young children -- a 6-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy. Tsakos was posthumously promoted to detective.
"As alleged, there is a list of bad choices, from drinking and getting high and
getting behind the wheel of a car, that ended tragically with the defendant running down Highway Officer Anastasios Tsakos and then trying to get away," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in announcing the indictment Monday. "This is heartbreaking, and a mother is left alone to raise a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old."
