A chain reaction crash in Queens involving a speeding NYPD cruiser on Friday night left a female pedestrian dead and four police officers with minor injuries, police reported.
Law enforcement sources said the deadly incident occurred at about 8:32 p.m. on Feb. 17 at the corner of Beach Channel Drive and Bay 32nd Street in Wavecrest.
According to law enforcement sources, the four officers were riding in a marked NYPD Ford Explorer rushing to an emergency call westbound along Beach Channel Drive, with its emergency lights activated, heading to a report of an officer in need of assistance.
At the intersection, police reported, the officer operating the Ford Explorer attempted to pass a civilian vehicle — a 2020 Toyota Corolla driven by a 44-year-old woman, who was attempting to turn left from Beach Channel Drive onto southbound Bay 32nd Street.
But police sources said the woman failed to see the NYPD vehicle coming from behind and moved to make the left turn anyway. That caused the officer operating the Explorer to strike woman’s Corolla, causing it to spin at the intersection.
Law enforcement sources said the Explorer was then redirected toward the southwest corner of the intersection and struck the female pedestrian, a 52-year-old woman who was standing off the corner, in the Beach Channel Drive bike lane.
According to authorities, the out-of-control Explorer then mounted the sidewalk and struck a parked, unoccupied 2020 Honda Accord in a nearby parking lot.
Officers from the 101st Precinct and EMS responded to the crash. The female pedestrian, who suffered head trauma, was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where she died a short time later; police have withheld her identity, pending family notification.
The four officers inside the Explorer were brought by EMS to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital and listed in stable condition. The Toyota Corolla driver, meanwhile, was not injured.
No charges have been filed at this time. The investigation remains ongoing, police said.
