NYPD Officer Due In Court After Fatal Crash In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A NYPD officer is set to face a judge today, after allegedly striking and killing a pedestrian and injuring three others while driving drunk, police say.
Authorities say 28-year-old off-Nicholas Batka lost control of his SUV on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn and it mounted the sidewalk, striking four pedestrians around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.
Witnesses say Batka was driving too fast down the residential roadway and swerving, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
"So I saw this guy pass by me in a really bad speed, zigzagging and soon as he turned he jumped on the sidewalk," Uber driver Shakeel Shabbi told CBS2. "I'm a strong man but I was shaking like a leaf. That's the worst thing I've ever seen… Never want to see that again in my life"
Police spokesman Officer Brian Magoolaghan said Batka has worked 1 1/2 years in the New York Police Department Transit Bureau Manhattan task force. He said Batka has been suspended.
Magoolaghan said two women and two men, all believed to be in their 20s, were struck. Police say a man at Bellevue Hospital was dead while the others were seriously injured.
Witnesses said they had the SUV surrounded and were shocked to see Batka allegedly try to use the fact he's an officer to get away, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported. The deadly crash was just hours before Batka was scheduled to work at 7 a.m.
Batka faces charges of manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter , assault and driving while intoxicated.
