Holly MatkinLynbrook, NY – New York Police Officer Vincent Persaud died in a two-vehicle crash on Wednesday as he was on his way to work.
Officer Persaud, 31, was traveling westbound on Peninsula Boulevard near the intersection of Hempstead Avenue at approximately 6:45 a.m., when he and another driver crashed into one another, Lynbrook Police Lieutenant Charles McCartney said, according to Newsday.
The collision caused Officer Persaud’s vehicle to spin out of control, before it slammed into a tree, the Herald reported.
The veteran officer suffered severe head trauma during the crashes, according to Newsday.
He was rushed to Long Island Jewish Valley Stream, where he was pronounced dead just after 9 a.m., the Herald reported.
The other driver was not seriously injured.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
Officer Persaud, a native of Guyana, joined the NYPD’s 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway in July of 2015, according to Newsday.
“Our hearts are heavy with passing of our brother P.O. Vincent Persaud this morning in an off-duty vehicle collision,” the New York City Police Benevolent Association tweeted. “Please keep his family, friends and
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the loss of the young officer was a tragedy.
“We lost another comrade in a tragic crash,” de Blasio said, according to Newsday. “Our city mourns today a young man of real promise, who devoted himself to this department [and] cared about this city.”
Officer Persaud leaves behind his wife, who is 13 weeks pregnant, New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill said.
“All members of the police department are extremely saddened,” Commissioner O’Neill told reporters.
Officer Persaud is also survived by his parents, according to a fundraising campaign established to help his wife in the wake of her loss.
He will be laid to rest on Sunday.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of New York Police Officer Vincent Persaud, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.