Wrong-Way Driver Who Killed NYPD Detective Receives Prison Sentence

The man who drove wrong way on the Sprain Brook Parkway causing the death of an New York City Police detective was sentenced Wednesday.

Acting Westchester County District Attorney James A. McCarty said that Efren Moreano, 21, will be spending four to 12 years in state prison, having pled guilty April 18, 2016, to second-degree manslaughter, first-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree vehicular manslaughter, all felonies.

Moreano, a Yonkers resident, was driving a Honda Civic sedan at approximately 3:52 a.m. February 27, 2015, when he went north onto the southbound Jackson Avenue exit of the Sprain Brook Parkway in Greenburgh.

He drove about 2 miles in the wrong direction, forcing numerous vehicles off the road, police said.

About the same time, Detective Paul Duncan, was on his way to work when he entered the parkway from the Route 100-B entrance heading south.

Duncan, 46, was working for the Internal Affairs Bureau in Queens and was a 17-year veteran, according to the New York Post.

McCarty said Duncan was 2 miles into his commute when he was struck by Moreano’s car and was was killed instantly.

Moreano was severely injured.

While being extricated from his car, emergency responders said they noticed Moreano had a strong smell of alcohol and marijuana.

A New York State Trooper said there was a bag of marijuana on the passenger side of the car.

The accident investigation found that Moreano was driving about 105 mph at the time of the collision.

Toxicology results showed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.16 percent and marijuana in his system at the time of the accident.

Moreano was remanded to the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections.

For the original article on the crash from the New York Post, go here.