Off-Duty NYPD Traffic Agent Charged With Manslaughter After Fatal Crash, Prosecutors Say

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — A man was charged with manslaughter after he drunkenly crashed his car on the Williamsburg bridge, killing a passenger, prosecutors said.

Stefan Hoyte, an NYPD traffic agent, was speeding across the bridge in March at nearly 111 mph just seconds before he crashed his car into a pillar, severing the car and one of its passengers in two, authorities said. The speed limit on the bridge is 35 mph.

Williamsburg woman Amanda Miner was killed in the crash on the night of her 21st birthday. She had been out celebrating with her boyfriend and Hoyte at a Manhattan bar before Hoyte drove them home after 3 a.m. on March 16. Hoyte, 26, was off-duty at the time of the crash.

Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance announced on Thursday that Hoyte had been indicted for manslaughter, among other charges.

"In this horrific case, the defendant is charged with drunkenly slamming into a pillar in such an unwieldy, uncontrolled manner and at such a dangerously high speed that the impact severed the victim in two," Vance said in a statement.

Hoyte was heading eastbound across the bridge when he lost control of his car and struck a pillar that divided the roadway, according to Vance's office. Hoyte was arrested shortly after the crash by responding police officers, and a hospital blood test taken shortly after showed a blood alcohol level of 0.12, authorities said. In New York state, a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher is evidence of intoxication. (For more news from the Lower East Side and New York City, subscribe to Patch news alerts here.)

In addition to the manslaughter charge, a felony, Hoyte was charged with vehicular manslaughter and two counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Hoyte, who has worked for the NYPD since 2013, was suspended after his arrest. Hoyte's attorney was not available to comment on the case Thursday afternoon.

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