Jury deliberating in Nassau manslaughter case
Jonathan Lopez, who was involved in a high speed accident that killed off-duty NYPD officer Kevin Jessup, 25, of Massapequa, on the Southern State Parkway on Sept. 11, 2011, leaves Nassau County Court in Mineola after closing statements in his trial. (Nov. 12, 2013) Credit: Howard Schnapp
Jurors continued deliberating Wednesday in a Nassau County trial involving a deadly parkway race in the government's manslaughter case against a 22-year-old East Meadow man.
Prosecutors have said defendant Jonathan Lopez should be held responsible in the death of NYPD Officer Keith Jessup, who was killed in the crash.
Authorities have said the 25-year-old off-duty cop was driving drunk on Sept. 11, 2011 when he and Lopez raced each other on the Southern State Parkway.
Jessup died after their cars collided near Bethpage State Parkway, and an FBI official was hurt when her car also was hit.
Jurors sent questions to the judge during deliberations and asked for a reading of some eyewitness testimony, to see photos of tire marks and to examine the defendant's statements to authorities.
The panel of 12 has spent about three and a half hours in deliberations so far, and the families of both Jessup and Lopez, along with the defendant, have waited for news from opposite sides of a Mineola courtroom.
Lopez is facing up to 15 years in prison on the manslaughter charge. Prosecutors have also charged him with lesser counts of assault, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
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