An NYPD officer, a 43-year-old husband and father of two, was killed early Tuesday when he was struck by a passing vehicle while diverting traffic from a previous fatal crash on the Long Island Expressway in Queens, and an alleged drunk driver is in custody.
The officer is identified as Anastasios Tsakos, a 14-year veteran of the force assigned to Highway 3, who has a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son, ABC7 reports.
Officer Tsakos was struck by a 2013 Volkswagen in the eastbound lanes of the LIE near Francis Lewis Boulevard just before 2 a.m. Police said the driver, 32-year-old Jessica Beauvais, of Hempstead, NY, was intoxicated and had a suspended license when she swerved to avoid other cars and hit Tsakos as he stood next to his marked vehicle.
She initially drove from the scene but was arrested a short time later.
