Guyana-born New York policeman dies in car accident

Last Updated on Thursday, 2 May 2019, 12:47 by Writer

Reproduced from News Day (New York)

An off-duty New York City police officer killed Wednesday morning in a two-car accident in Lynbrook has been identified as Vincent Persaud of West Babylon, authorities said.

Persaud, 31, who was stationed in the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway, was on his way to work, driving west on Peninsula Boulevard at 6:45 a.m. when his car collided with another vehicle near the Hempstead Avenue intersection, said Lynbrook Police Lt. Charles McCartney.

Persaud’s car then went off the road, Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said during an unrelated news conference in Mineola. He was pronounced dead at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream. The NYPD said Persaud suffered severe head trauma.

The other driver, who was not identified, was not seriously injured, police said. The crash is not considered criminal and the investigation is continuing, Nassau police said.

A native of Guyana, Persaud joined the NYPD in July 2015 and spent his entire career in the 101st Precinct, officials said.

“Our hearts are heavy with passing of our brother P.O. Vincent Persaud this morning in an off-duty vehicle collision,” the NYC Police Benevolent Association tweeted Wednesday. “Please keep his family, friends and @NYPD101Pct brothers and sisters in your thoughts and prayers.”

Reached by phone, a family member of Persaud declined to comment and asked for privacy.

Last month, a veteran NYPD highway officer and married father of five from Elmont was killed in a motorcycle crash on the Laurelton Parkway in Queens as he rode to work, officials said.