NYPD Officer Killed On LIE By Driver Accused Of Being Drunk

NEW YORK CITY — An NYPD officer was struck and killed on the Long Island Expressway by a driver accused of being drunk.

Anastasios Tsakos, 43, of East Northport, died early Tuesday while directing traffic at the scene of another fatal crash, authorities said.

A Long Island woman — Jessica Beauvais, 32, of Hempstead — faces a slew of charges in connection to the crash, including vehicular manslaughter.

"We see here a horrendous pattern — people doing the wrong thing and other people dead because of it," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an early morning press conference. "And one of them a hero officer who did everything right in his life for us and he is dead because of other people's negligence."

A "senseless" and "completely avoidable chain of events" led to Tsakos's death, said Commissioner Dermot Shea.

Tsakos — a 14-year NYPD veteran and a father — was assigned to divert traffic from the scene of a fatal single-car crash about 12:30 a.m., Shea said.

He said a 2013 Volkswagen headed east on the highway at about 1 a.m. swerved to avoid other cars, veered toward Tsakos and struck him "head-on" while he was directing traffic.

Police said they caught the driver — Beauvais — and arrested her.

"We know now she was driving on a suspended license and intoxicated at the time of the accident," Shea said.

The previous crash also appeared to involve alcohol, Shea said. He said NYPD officers arrived to find that car on fire.

The officers broke out a window and dragged people from the car, he said. But one of three people in the car — a rear seat passenger — died in the crash, he said.

"Because of that accident that occurred about 12:30, Officer Tsakos and other members arrived to divert traffic off of the highway," he said.

Beauvais faces two counts of vehicular manslaughter, reckless endangerment, fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, leaving an accident resulting in death, aggravated unlicensed operators, operating a motor vehicle at .08 percent alcohol, first-offense driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, driving without a license, an emergency vehicle right-of-way violation, colliding with an emergency vehicle and driving while ability impaired by alcohol, authorities said.