Fatal LI Car Crash Caught On Camera Released: NY AG

NORTH AMITYVILLE, NY —Security camera footage capturing a man getting struck by a vehicle operated by an off-duty MTA police officer in March has been released by the Office of Special Investigations of New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Richard Moffatt, 30, of Amityville, was driving a southbound 2021 Mazda SUV in the left lane of Broadway, near Francine Avenue in North Amityville, when the vehicle struck Jose Francisco Escobar Vasquez around 12:15 a.m. on March 15, Suffolk County police said.

Vasquez was pronounced dead at the scene and Moffatt was not injured, police said in a statement.

On Monday, OSI released security camera footage that her office obtained as part of its ongoing investigation into Vasquez's death.

The videos show the impact from two different perspectives.

According to James' office, the release of the footage follows her directive that camera footage obtained by her office during an OSI investigation be released to the public to increase transparency and strengthen public trust in these matters.

In a statement, OSI said that pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, the office assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission.

According to the OSI, under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated and if OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.