Services Set For NCPD Officer Killed In Crash With Accused Drunk Driver

SMITHTOWN, NY. — The St. James Funeral Home announced that visitation would begin Wednesday in honor of 42-year-old Nassau County Police officer Patricia Espinosa, who was killed Saturday morning after her car was hit by a drunk driver, police said.

Visitation for Espinosa will take place at the St. James Funeral Home, at 829 Middle County Rd. in St. James. The visitation will be held Wednesday from both 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. A funeral mass will be held in her honor at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, at 280 E. Main St. in Smithtown, Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m.

“She was an inspiration to her family; her brother David serves in the Philadelphia Police Department and her brother Cristian, having previously been NYPD, is now an NCPD Officer as well,” an obituary for Espinosa reads.

According to the obituary, Espinosa had immigrated to the United States from Ecuador at 21 years-old, learning English and becoming a field training officer to help younger members of the police force learn proper procedures and tactics.

She was also involved in the police department’s mentoring initiative, and served as the Police Hispanic Society Sergeant-At-Arms, a position that, “allowed her to lead the membership to be the bridge between the Department and the Community,” her obituary reads.

She was also a wife — to NCPD officer Francisco Malaga — and a mother, to a two-year-old daughter whom she “considered a gift from La Virgen de Guadalupe,” the obituary reads.

In the wake of the crash, support has already begun pouring out for Espinosa’s family. By Monday afternoon a GoFundMe to support Espinosa’s husband and their daughter, set up by the Nassau County Police Hispanic Society, had received over $170,000.