Cop killed in crash remembered as caring

A veteran New York City police officer who was killed in a one-vehicle crash yesterday morning was remembered as a caring person and a tough cop.

Esther Sanzo, 37, was traveling south on the Palisades Interstate Parkway at about 12:45 a.m. when her 2008 Ford sport utility vehicle crashed into a guardrail in Nanuet, ejecting her onto the roadway, State Police said in a statement.

"She was a wonderful person who cared about everyone she worked with," said Joe Anthony, a Bronx trustee in the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association who worked with Sanzo in the borough's 48th Precinct.

"She worked some of the city's toughest neighborhoods and never complained. On the street, she was tough as nails."

Anthony said Sanzo recently married her longtime sweetheart, NYPD Lt. Mike Holmes, 41, whom she met while working at the 44th Precinct in the Bronx. The couple didn't have any children, Anthony said.

Sanzo's father, Graziano Sanzo, a minister at the Church of Our Savior in Yonkers, said she always wanted to be a police officer and specifically chose the Bronx because it was one of the most challenging and rewarding posts.

Esther Sanzo grew up in Yorktown but moved to Sullivan County. Her father said she moved to Manhattan when she was about 17 and eventually entered the Police Academy.

In addition to her father and husband, Esther Sanzo is survived by a brother, Moses, 47, and a sister, Elizabeth, 38.

The accident forced police to close the southbound lane of the parkway for several hours yesterday morning.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation and police are urging witnesses to contact them at 846-364-0200. An autopsy will be conducted by the Rockland County medical examiner's office.

Funeral arrangements were not available yesterday.