Driver arrested after off-duty NYPD officer killed in BQE hit-and-run
A Washington Heights man was arrested Wednesday night for allegedly fleeing the scene after fatally striking an off-duty NYPD officer on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway earlier that day, police said.
Carlos Almanzar Toribio, 30, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, an E-class felony, authorities said. Such crimes are punishable by up to four years in prison. He was also charged with driving an unregistered vehicle and driving without a license plate. He was arrested in Brooklyn.
The 30-year-old officer was riding his motorcycle westbound in the outermost lane of the BQE near exit 27, which connects to Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill, when he was struck by a box truck around 8:27 a.m. Wednesday, according to police.
The officer was transported to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead. Police have not released the officer's name.
The city's police union confirmed the death Wednesday but did not provide additional details about the victim.
Lawyer information for Toribio was not immediately available.
