Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Carnage

Two Drunk-Driving Cops Crash Cars In Two Nights

Drunk off-duty New York City police officers have crashed their vehicles each of the last two nights.

On Wednesday evening at around 6:20 p.m., the Daily News reported, officer Christine Mazarakes smashed her car at the corner of 81st Street and West End Avenue. Mazarakes, who is stationed at the Upper West Side's 24th precinct, was charged with a DWI and suspended.

The following night, Detective Thomas Handley flipped his car over while driving on the BQE at around 11:30. His injuries were somehow only minor, according to the News, and like Mazarakes, he was charged with a DWI and suspended.

The pair of drunk-driving crashes caused by New York's finest comes a few weeks after a similar crash on Brooklyn's Fifth Avenue. On March 15, Officer Sergio Gonzalez was arrested for driving under the influence after crashing his car into the back of a cab, speeding away from the scene of a crash and then hitting a police car further down the street. Two hypodermic needles were found in Gonzalez's car, according to the Park Slope Patch.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Q&A: Will The Bronx’s New Council Member Take On Car Culture?

Union leader Shirley Aldebol took on Republican Kristy Marmorato and won — and now she's ready to fight for better transit and safer streets.

November 7, 2025

Friday Video: The Utopia of London’s Low-Traffic Neighborhoods

Streetsfilms follows an urban planner around the “low-traffic neighborhood” of St. Peter’s in the London borough of Islington.

November 7, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Movie Night Edition

Check out the Bike Film Festival this weekend. Plus other news.

November 7, 2025

SLAUGHTER: Wrong-Way Van Driver Kills Woman in West Village Crosswalk

The driver of a commercial van struck and killed a woman in her 20s as he drove the wrong way on Morton Street.

November 6, 2025

DECISION 2025: Transit Wins Big — Again — Across America

Several candidates who ran on ambitious transportation reform platforms won at the ballot box on Tuesday — but even more communities said yes to supporting transit directly.

November 6, 2025

Book Excerpt Special: The Incomplete Freeway Revolt

A new book looks at the destructive 20th-century urban development style — freeways, downtown office towers, suburban housing developments — that keeps Americans so dependent on their cars. Here's an excerpt.

November 6, 2025
See all posts