Two Drunk-Driving Cops Crash Cars In Two Nights

A drunk off-duty police officer slammed his car into a police vehicle in Park Slope three weeks ago. In the past two nights, two more off-duty cops crashed their vehicles while driving drunk. Photo: ##http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/03/15/eyes-on-the-street-nypd-cruiser-rammed-in-park-slope/##Joanna Oltman Smith##

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.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Bill Bratton Is in Denial About NYPD’s Deadly Drunk Driving Problem

By Brad Aaron |
In the aftermath of another civilian death at the hands of an allegedly intoxicated off-duty officer, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says drunk driving cops are not a problem at NYPD. Nicholas Batka, 28, drove onto the sidewalk at Bedford Avenue and North Eighth Street in Williamsburg at around 3:10 a.m. Saturday, striking Andrew Esquivel and three friends. Esquivel, a […]

The Weekly Carnage

By Summer Greenstein |
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle violence across the five boroughs and beyond. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage. Fatal Crashes (2 killed this week, 41 this year, 4 drivers charged*) Jackson Heights: Drivers Collide, Kill 82-Year-Old Pedestrian Margaret Choborka; No […]

The Weekly Carnage

By Summer Greenstein |
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle violence across the five boroughs and beyond. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage. Fatal Crashes (6 killed this week, 111 this year, 17 drivers charged*) Wakefield: Tyre Chisholm, 22, Killed By Drunk Off-Duty Cop While […]

The Weekly Carnage

By Summer Greenstein |
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle violence across the five boroughs and beyond. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage. Fatal Crashes (4 killed this week, 117 this year, 17 drivers charged*) Canarsie: Denise Pierrelus, 65, Fatally Struck Two Blocks from Home; […]

The Weekly Carnage

By Summer Greenstein |
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle violence across the five boroughs. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage. Fatal Crashes (9 Killed Since March 28; 52 This Year; 2 Drivers Charged*) Yorkville: Kelly Gordon, 22, Struck by Two Cab Drivers Crossing York Ave. (News, DNA) […]

The Weekly Carnage

By Summer Greenstein |
The Weekly Carnage is a Friday round-up of motor vehicle violence across the five boroughs and beyond. For more on the origins and purpose of this column, please read About the Weekly Carnage. Fatal Crashes (2 killed this week, 132 this year, 19 drivers charged*) Brownsville: Theauther Love, 87, Hit By Officer Driving NYPD Traffic […]