NYPD civilian employee killed in loose tire crash in Brooklyn, police say

A civilian employee of the NYPD died Wednesday morning after a truck’s tire flew into the windshield of his car as he was driving on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn, police said.

Robert Martinez, 64, was driving east on the highway in the HOV lane at about 6:30 a.m. when a tire from a truck going the opposite way came loose, cops said.

The tire shattered his windshield and struck him, causing the car to crash into the barrier.

Martinez was found with severe head trauma and taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in Sunset Park, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

The truck driver stayed at the scene, and there were no other injuries reported. It was not immediately clear what position the victim had with the NYPD.

Martinez was a building maintenance worker at the NYPD headquarters.

Last month, a man died in West Babylon after a stray tire struck his car, Suffolk County police said at the time. David Dorazio, 60, of Lindenhurst, was driving west on Sunrise Highway near Exit 39. The tire also hit another vehicle on the highway.

Driver Joseph Nickel of Islip later contacted police to say the trailer he was towing on Sunrise Highway at the time was missing a tire, authorities said. He was not charged.

With Kadia Goba and AP