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NYPD Officer Killed By Alleged Drunk Driver In Queens
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 27, 2021
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 27, 2021
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A 43-year-old NYPD officer was struck and killed by an intoxicated driver early Tuesday morning in Queens, police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
"We stand here devastated and trying to pick up the pieces of what is a shattered home and a shattered NYPD family," he said, adding that a "senseless and completely avoidable chain of events" resulted in Officer Anastasio Tsakos's death.
Tsakos, a 14-year veteran and member of Highway Unit 3, had been on the scene of a collision on the Long Island Expressway in Clearview that occurred before 2 a.m. Tsakos had been diverting traffic from that crash when a 32-year-old woman driving a 2013 Volkswagen struck him "head-on," Shea said.
The woman, identified as Jessica Beauvais of Hempstead, Long Island, drove away from the scene but was subsequently apprehended; "She is now facing charges up to vehicular manslaughter," Shea said, "and we now know she was driving with a suspended license and was intoxicated at the time."
Tsakos, who was married and was the father of a six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, was taken to New York-Presbyterian Queens, where he died from his injuries.
The initial crash that Tsakos and other officers were investigating involved a vehicle that struck a utility pole around 12:30 a.m. That vehicle had three occupants and was on fire requiring emergency responders to pull the people out. Shea said the rear passenger died.
"He's dead because he was at an accident where people had driven recklessly also with a suspended license," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "He's dead because of other people's negligence."
Just before 9 a.m., police revealed that Beauvais is facing numerous charges, including two counts of vehicular manslaughter, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, DWI, and colliding with an emergency vehicle.
Reporting by Andy Mai.
Tagged
long island expressway
nypd
police officer
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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