New York Personal Injury News & NYC Legal Current Events

Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against NYPD After Car Accident

A Brooklyn family is filing a wrongful death lawsuit against New York City and the New York City Police Department after a woman was struck and killed by an off-duty officer who was drinking and driving last year.

On September 27, 2009, 32-year-old Vionique Valnord-Kassime was hailing a taxi in Brooklyn after leaving a wedding reception when she was fatally hit by an SUV driven by 31-year-old Andrew Kelly, a New York police officer. The car accident, which occurred at one in the morning, was complicated by the fact that Kelly refused to take a blood alcohol fact – while fellow officers may have helped him avoid a DUI charge. When he finally submitted to a test, he had no alcohol in his system.

A year later, Kelly was found guilty of second-degree vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 90 days in jail and 5 years on probation. In addition, he resigned from his position at the NYPD after eight years of service. As part of his guilty plea, Kelly admitted that he had been drinking before getting behind the wheel on the night of the pedestrian accident. He will also lose his drivers’ license for a year and have a ignition lock installed in his car after he regains his right to drive.

While the Valnord family says that they forgive Kelly, and that they are glad he has admitted his guilt in the deadly car accident, they are moving ahead with a wrongful death civil suit against the city and the police department.

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