The speeding drunk NYPD officer Kimberly Lajara. She also killed her passenger in the fiery crash.
Off-Duty NYPD Officer, Passenger Killed in Fiery NYC Car Crash
Their car crashed into a tree along the parkway, near West 96th Street, just before 3:45 a.m. Sunday, according to police
By Ken Buffa and Marc Santia
August 12, 2019
An off-duty NYPD officer and another person died when their speeding car crashed into a tree along the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan, police and sources said.
The 2016 Mercedes Benz crashed into a tree along the parkway, near West 96th Street, just before 3:45 a.m. Sunday, according to police. The car was consumed by fire.
Officer Kimberly Lajara, 24, and her passenger, Oscar Monegro, 32, were pronounced dead after the crash, the sources and the NYPD said. Police say Lajara was a member of the 121st Precinct in Staten Island.
Officers were diverting traffic near the site of the crash hours later.
Most of the deadly drunk-driver (drug-related crashes) occur in the early am hours, like in this case. These drunks cannot drive in a straight line or follow the road and they end up crashing their cars.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, "We're mourning the loss of one of New York's Finest today." We disagree: she was a drunk loser who killed an innocent passenger. Besides, at 24 years old, how she could have made herself such a fine officer?
Police say an investigation is ongoing.
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FROM NY POST:
A young NYPD cop was killed in a fiery car crash along with her passenger early Sunday on the Upper West Side, possibly as a result of speeding, according to authorities and law-enforcement sources.
Officer Kimberly Lajara was flying south along the Henry Hudson Parkway around 3:45 a.m. when her 2016 Mercedes Benz hopped a median near West 98th Street and slammed into a tree, cops and sources said.
The Benz burst into flames, leaving both the 24-year-old Staten Island cop and her male passenger, Oscar Monegro, 32, dead at the scene, according to police.
The flames were so fierce that the two were “pretty badly burned” and “unrecognizable” at first, police sources said.
Investigators traced the car back to Lajara because the car was registered in her name, and her purse was found among its charred shell.
“Rest In Peace Police Officer Lajara,” tweeted Staten Island’s 121st Precinct, for which she worked. “You will be missed by your entire 121 Precinct Family.”
The cause of the crash officially remains under investigation, but sources said that it appears Lajara was speeding when she lost control.
The mangled mess of twisted metal left behind in the aftermath left onlookers horrified.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my freaking life — a car mangled like that, destroyed,” said Paul Vella, 57. “It’s unbelievable. … It’s sad.”
Additional reporting by Aaron Feis