Testimony: Driver slurred speech after LIE crash that killed NYPD cop
Jessica Beauvais, of Hempstead, at her arraignment in 2021 in connection with the hit-and run crash on the LIE in Queens that killed NYPD Det. Anastasios Tsakos, 43, of East Northport.
Credit: Corey Sipkin
A Hempstead woman accused of driving drunk when she struck and killed an NYPD detective from East Northport last year as he investigated a crash was belligerent and had slurred speech as cops forcibly removed her from her car afterward, according to testimony Wednesday in a Queens courtroom.
Jessica Beauvais, 34, faces charges of manslaughter, aggravated manslaughter and related offenses in connection with the April 27, 2021, crash on the Long Island Expressway in Queens that killed Det. Anastasios Tsakos, 43.
At a pretrial hearing Wednesday in Queens State Supreme Court, Officer Kevin Wallace, who works in the NYPD collision investigation squad, said he was investigating another crash at Exit 27 on the LIE that night when he got a frantic radio call from an officer farther west at Exit 26. Tsakos — who had been diverting traffic off the Expressway at that exit — had had been hit, the cop frantically shouted.
“Tsakos is down, Tsakos is down, stop that car, stop that car, Tsakos is hit!” yelled the officer at the roadblock, according to Wallace.
When he looked toward the other exit, Wallace said, he saw a heavily damaged maroon 2013 Volkswagen sedan driving east and erratically changing lanes without signaling. The vehicle, which police later determined was driven by Beauvais when it hit Tsakos, had a damaged front bumper, one headlight out, a severely damaged windshield and was dragging a police hazard cone under its front wheel, Wallace testified before Judge Michael Aloise.
Tsakos’ widow, Irene, of East Northport was in court, along with Police Benevolent Association head Patrick Lynch and Detective Endowment Association president Paul DiGiacomo, as well as several police officers.
Beauvais had a blood alcohol level of .15, almost twice the legal limit, police said at the time. She allegedly fled the scene and was apprehended off Exit 29 by Wallace and other officers. Beauvais has pleaded not guilty.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Assistant District Attorney Gregory Lasak played a composite of police body camera videos of the minutes when Beauvais was stopped and arrested. Wallace, a 10-year NYPD veteran, said he was not wearing a body camera that night because his unit doesn’t require it.
The videos showed Wallace, with his gun drawn, ordering Beauvais out of the car, and when she balked, pulling her out by force. Wallace said he noticed a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana in the car and that Beauvais had bloodshot eyes. Wallace later testified he believed Beauvais was intoxicated.
Although the in-court audio on the tape was not clear, an agitated Beauvais seemed to be saying repeatedly, “Please, Please.”
Cops didn’t question Beauvais when she was arrested. But prosecution court papers indicated that she made several spontaneous statements while being driven away in a police car, including “I don’t deserve this, what did I do?” and “I am not a criminal."
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
