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Cop Accused of Manslaughter in Fatal DWI, Lawyer Blames Weather
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 28, 2009
Modified Sep 28, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 28, 2009
Modified Sep 28, 2009
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Just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, Vionique Valnord, 32, was trying to hail a cab after a wedding reception in Flatbush when she was fatally struck by a Jeep Cherokee SUV; the driver was NYPD officer Andrew Kelly, 30, a seven-year veteran of the department who worked in the 68th Precinct. Four passengers in the SUV, one an off-duty cop, immediately fled the scene, but Kelly, who was off-duty, remained. His brother-in-law tells the Times that Kelly "performed CPR on the woman," and one witness tells the Post, "[Kelly] got out of the car, and he was trying to resuscitate her. He got her breathing again by the time the ambulance got here."
Officer Kelly refused to take a Breathalyzer test at the scene, but a sergeant reported that he had red, watery eyes, slurred speech, and smelled of alcohol. Oh, and there were "alcoholic beverages" in the vehicle; a police source tells the Post a plastic beer cup was spotted near his seat. Kelly later obeyed a subpoena to take a blood test some seven hours later, but the results haven't been made public yet. He was arraigned last night in Brooklyn Criminal Court, and charged with vehicular manslaughter and DWI. Kelly was released on $200,000 bond, but his driver’s license is suspended and the NYPD has suspended him without pay for 30 days.
There are conflicting reports about the other off-duty cop in the SUV, Michael Downs of the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn. He claims that an investigator at the scene told him he was clear to leave, but other NYPD sources refute that and say Downs didn't alert his superiors until he showed up for work yesterday. According to the Post, NYPD brass "were so angry over his leaving that they at first threatened to try to charge him criminally." Downs, who has been suspended, kept a Facebook page with the motto "DRINK UP LIFE IS TOO SHORT!!!" and cited his favorite music as "any music that makes me drink. Lol."
Valnord was rushed to Kings County Hospital Center in critical condition and was later pronounced dead. Witnesses say she was about 100 feet east of the crosswalk when she stepped out into the street to try to hail a cab. Her friend tells the Daily News, "When the car hit her, she fell away from the car and it came to a stop. He hit the brakes only after he hit her—he didn't slam on the brakes before. There was no screeching tire sound or anything." Kelly's lawyer says, "It was a dark and dreary night. [There] was heavy rain. The streets were dark."
Valnord's father, Rev. Varius Valnord, presided over the wedding that his daughter attended the night of her death. According to the Daily News, she was a teetotaler who lived above her father's church and devoted much of her time to Bible study and the church's social programs. Rev. Valnord says, "My heart is full of pain—she's my lovely daughter, my only daughter. I don't feel angry. I forgive him. God keeps me strong, but I feel so bad."
Tagged
andrew kelly
brooklyn
cop
crash
dwi
flatbush
nyc
nypd
off-duty
Vionique Valnord
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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