PELHAM PARKWAY, the Bronx— An officer driving a marked NYPD vehicle was speeding at about 60 mph when they struck and killed a woman in the Bronx last week, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Wednesday.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened an independent investigation into the Oct. 5 crash that killed Sofia Gomez.
The 20-year-old was hit by the NYPD vehicle at Pelham Parkway and Wallace Avenue, according to officials. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead three days later.
“It’s just a tragic, tragic incident,” Shea said Wednesday on NY1.
The police commissioner said investigators reviewed the car camera system as well as other evidence in the crash, which he said occurred as the officer was responding to a call for assistance.
“We believe the (patrol) car was probably going closer to 60 miles per hour at the time of impact,” he said. “It’s just — it’s a terrible, terrible incident.”
The speed limit on Pelham Parkway is 30 mph, according to the city Department of Transportation.
Under a state executive order, the New York attorney general has the authority to investigate, and if warranted, prosecute cases in which an unarmed civilian is killed by a law enforcement officer.
