Officer Driving NYPD SUV Fatally Hits Pedestrian in Queens
Officer Sudan Osorio was speeding to an emergency call when he hit 52-year-old Zabina Gafoor at Beach Channel Drive and Bay 32nd Street, where the city recorded one pedestrian killed and four motorists injured.
What We Know
Officer Sudan Osorio was driving a marked NYPD Ford Explorer west on Beach Channel Drive on Feb. 17, 2023, responding to an emergency call with four officers inside, according to press reports. Near Bay 32nd Street, sources said, he tried to pass a Toyota Corolla that was turning left. After the drivers collided, Zabina Gafoor, 52, was hit near the corner. The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and four motorists injured. The state attorney general later found Osorio responsible for Gafoor's death but declined to bring criminal charges, saying he was not criminally liable.
An emergency response became a deadly chain reaction
The city crash record says the Feb. 17, 2023 collision happened at 8:33 p.m. at Beach Channel Drive and Bay 32nd Street in Queens, killing one pedestrian and injuring four motorists.
amNY reported that four officers were riding in a marked NYPD Ford Explorer with emergency lights activated, heading west to a call for an officer needing assistance. Sources told the outlet that the officer driving tried to pass a Toyota Corolla as its driver was attempting a left turn, and that the officer then hit the Corolla before Gafoor was hit near the corner.
Beach Channel Drive has a long crash history
The crash happened at Beach Channel Drive and Bay 32nd Street in Queens. CrashCountNYC location context identifies Beach Channel Drive in Queens as a corridor with 833 crashes, 513 injuries, 36 serious injuries and 6 deaths since 2022.
Zabina Gafoor was on her way to work
The Daily News identified the pedestrian as Zabina Gafoor, a 52-year-old Queens home health aide, and reported that she had been walking to work. The city record lists the person killed as a 52-year-old female pedestrian.
Reports differed on where she died. The New York Post and amNY reported that she was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead there; the Daily News reported that she died at the scene despite CPR efforts.
Records and reports describe the vehicles involved
The city record lists a 2017 Ford SUV traveling west with four occupants, a 2020 Toyota sedan and a parked 2020 Honda sedan. amNY described the police vehicle as a marked NYPD Ford Explorer, the civilian car as a Toyota Corolla driven by a 44-year-old woman, and the parked car as an unoccupied Honda Accord.
The Daily News reported that the four officers were taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital with minor injuries and that the Corolla driver was not hurt.
The attorney general declined criminal charges
The Daily News reported that the state attorney general's Office of Special Investigation found Officer Osorio responsible for Gafoor's death but concluded he was not criminally liable. The office said he had been driving more than 70 mph in a 25-mph zone while responding to an urgent call.
The Daily News reported that Osorio crossed the double yellow line into the opposing lane to pass the Corolla, while police had previously said the Corolla driver did not see the NYPD vehicle coming from behind as she turned.