An NYPD officer fatally struck a pedestrian while responding to a call in Queens.
The people she spoiled
NYPD Officer Sudan Osorio was responding to an emergency call when he collided with a turning car and struck a 52-year-old pedestrian at Beach Channel Drive and Bay 32nd Street in Queens at 8:33 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2023; the official record lists one pedestrian death and four injuries.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
The Daily News reported that the attorney general's investigation found Osorio was traveling more than 70 mph in a 25-mph zone while responding to an urgent call and attempting to pass a left-turning Corolla. The attorney general's office declined criminal charges; investigators found him responsible for Gafoor's death but not criminally liable.
The officer was responding to an emergency call.
The Daily News, describing the attorney general's review, reported that Osorio was driving a marked Ford Explorer with three other officers to assist with an arrest when they reached more than 70 mph in a 25-mph zone. At Bay 32nd Street, Osorio crossed into the opposing lane to pass a Toyota Corolla that was turning left; the pass ended in a collision, after which Osorio struck Gafoor in the bike lane.
The crash occurred at a Far Rockaway intersection.
The official record places the crash at Beach Channel Drive and Bay 32 Street in Queens at 8:33 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2023. The Daily News describes the location as Far Rockaway, while AM New York calls it Wavecrest.
Gafoor was a home health aide.
The Daily News identified Gafoor as a 52-year-old home health aide who was walking to work. CBS reported that witness Kevin Garcia had been told she was a home attendant returning home from work, so reports differ about her destination. CBS quoted Garcia recalling, "From there, we said a prayer. God bless her and her family."
CBS, AM New York and Univision reported that Gafoor was taken to Jamaica Hospital and pronounced dead there; the New York Post said she was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The later Daily News report said she died at the scene.
The official record lists four injuries. CBS and the Daily News reported that four officers had minor injuries and that the woman driving the Corolla was unhurt.
Reports identify a police Explorer, a Corolla and a parked Accord.
The Daily News and AM New York identified the NYPD vehicle as a Ford Explorer; the official record classifies it as a 2017 station wagon/SUV. AM New York and Univision identify the other moving vehicle as a 2020 Toyota Corolla driven by a 44-year-old woman, and report that a parked, unoccupied 2020 Honda Accord was also involved. The official record lists a Toyota sedan and a Honda sedan.
Accounts differ on the order of the final impacts.
AM New York and CBS said Osorio struck Gafoor before continuing onto the sidewalk and colliding with a parked car. The New York Post's law-enforcement sources placed the parked-car impact and curb crossing before the pedestrian impact. Univision's NYPD-attributed account says the impact sent Gafoor onto the parked Honda Accord.
The attorney general's office declined criminal charges.
In December 2024, the Daily News reported that the attorney general's Office of Special Investigation found Osorio responsible for Gafoor's death but not criminally liable. The attorney general's office declined to pursue criminal charges.