QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) – A woman who hit and killed an NYPD officer while driving drunk on the Long Island Expressway in 2021 was convicted on Tuesday, the Queens district attorney said.

Jessica Beauvais, 34, of Hempstead, was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter in connection to the death of NYPD detective Anastasios Tsakos on April 27, 2021, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office. 

The night Tsakos died, he responded to the scene of a fatal car crash on the eastbound side of the Long Island Expressway at the entrance ramp to the Clearview Expressway. 

Tsakos and his partner set up a roadblock using traffic cones and a marked police vehicle in order to divert traffic around the crash. Beauvais sped through the traffic cones and fatally struck Tsakos, who was standing beyond the roadblock, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

After hitting Tsakos, Beauvais drove off and was pursued by police. At one point, Beauvais put her vehicle into reverse and hit a police cruiser before she was apprehended, authorities said.

Police determined Beauvais’ blood alcohol level was at nearly twice the legal limit. Beauvais told police she smoked marijuana and had been drinking earlier in the day, according to authorities.

“The defendant had absolutely no business being behind the wheel,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “Her selfish decision-making and recklessness led to a horrific, senseless tragedy that left Detective Tsakos’ widow to raise their two young children without their father. We are grateful for the jury’s verdict and hope it brings at least some measure of solace to the detective’s loved ones.”

In addition to the manslaughter convictions, Beauvais was also found guilty of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Beauvais faces up to 27 years in prison. Her sentencing date has been set for Dec. 14.

Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than five years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here.