Drunk NYPD Officer Killed Woman In Crash, DA Says

ROCKAWAY, QUEENS — A drunk police officer hit a vehicle while driving on the Van Wyck Expressway, sending it careening into a light pole and killing the driver, prosecutors said.

Neville Smith, 32, crashed on April 23, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. The other driver, Vanessa Raghubar, 22, lost control of her vehicle. She died Monday in Jamaica Hospital, Brown said.

One of her passengers suffered a fractured arm and hip and another got a concussion, the DA said.

Smith refused to take a breathalyzer test but showed signs of intoxication, according to Brown.

The police officer was arraigned via video conference from his hospital bed. He was charged with vehicular assault, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. He faces up to seven years in jail.

He was suspended from his position at the NYPD, Newsday reported.

“Drinking and then driving is a deadly combination," said Brown. "The defendant – a police officer bound to enforce the law - is now accused of breaking the law and with deadly consequences."

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