Two New York City police officers have been suspended after allegedly leaving the scene of a crash that killed the driver of a stolen vehicle they were pursuing, according to reports citing confidential police sources.
The officers, assigned to the 50th Precinct in the Bronx, could face additional discipline as the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division has launched a probe into their role in the deadly accident.
The incident unfolded the morning of April 2 when the officers began tailing the driver of a stolen Honda CR-V. The pursuit, which began on the Henry Hudson Parkway, took them into Manhattan before sunrise.
At approximately 4:55 a.m., the Honda driver exited the highway at Dyckman Street in Inwood. The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a building near the edge of Inwood Hill Park, causing the car to explode in flames.
Instead of offering assistance or calling for help, the officers are accused of simply driving away, then behaving like it never happened.
Sources told the New York Daily News that the officers drove back to their precinct in the Bronx, completed their shift, and signed out without reporting the incident.
However, surveillance cameras captured their marked patrol vehicle leaving the crash, leading investigators straight to them.
The victim, whose identity has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene. The city’s medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, according to an NYPD spokesman.
For now, it remains unclear if the two officers could have saved the man’s life if they had tried to extract him from the wreckage, or whether the flames had prevented from doing so.
“The car was still there — it was burned, fully burned,” said a local man to New York Times later that afternoon.
“It was awful, very awful, thinking about somebody dying in a car, burned,” he added.
There has been no indication from authorities that the officers will face criminal charges.
The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of police chases in the city. Earlier this year, the NYPD enacted new guidelines designed to curb dangerous pursuits. Under the new rules, which took effect in February, officers are only permitted to chase vehicles fleeing felony crimes or violent misdemeanors.
The department’s response follows public outcry over high-speed pursuits that have led to collisions, injuries, and fatalities.
In a move to reduce risks associated with car chases, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch emphasized the department’s intention to rely on “advanced tools of modern-day policing” to track suspects rather than engage in dangerous pursuits. These methods include the use of drones, GPS trackers, and other tracking devices that can be deployed to follow vehicles without putting officers and civilians in harm’s way.
The investigation into the officers’ conduct continues, with some voices in the community raising questions about the department’s commitment to the new pursuit policies and the ethical responsibility of officers in the face of such tragedies.
The victim’s family has not come forward and there have been no reports of legal action related to the crash.
In similar case that was settled late last year, a Chicago-area family was awarded nearly $80 million as part of a lawsuit related to a 2020 police chase that caused the suspect’s car to crash and kill their 10-year-old daughter.
