Cops: NYPD officer in fatal crash may have been speeding

An off-duty New York City police sergeant killed in a one-car crash was believed to have been speeding when he lost control of his Jeep Cherokee and slammed the vehicle into a tree in Valley Stream, Nassau police said Monday.

Sgt. Anthony Johnson, 32, of West Babylon, was heading west on Sunrise Highway, near Rockaway Avenue, when the crash occurred at 3:08 a.m. Sunday, police said.

The stretch of road where the crash occurred is a "tricky" turn, said Det. Lt. Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the Nassau County Police Department.

"At that location, it's an S turn," Smith said. "There were tire marks at the scene, which may have been an indication that he was going too fast and lost control of the car."

The speed limit is 45 mph at that portion of Sunrise Highway, Smith said. At this point in the investigation, Smith said police do not yet know how fast Johnson was driving.

Johnson's body was found in the front seat of his 2005 Jeep Cherokee, which went up in flames, according to police. Firefighters from the Valley Stream Fire Department put out the fire and found Johnson's body.

"The body was badly burned," Smith said.

Johnson joined the NYPD in 2002 and worked at the 114th Precinct in the Long Island City-Astoria area in Queens, according to the department, and was promoted to sergeant in July 2007.

A man who identified himself as Johnson's uncle declined to comment Monday.

With Anthony M. DeStefano