Post by Critique on Feb 3, 2007 1:57:08 GMT -5
(Rego Park-WABC, February 2, 2007) - An off-duty New York City cop is charged with driving drunk and causing a head-on collision with another car in Queens.
Now, the driver of that car is in critical condition with severe head injuries.
The accident happened Thursday night on Woodhaven Boulevard in Rego Park. The victim is at Elmhurst Hospital and that's where Eyewitness News reporter Jim Dolan is with the story.
There will be a lot of questions to answer here -- like why an off-duty officer was never given a sobriety test after the accident.
It was a horrifying accident when an alleged DWI driver turned into 23-year-old Nickossi Mathurin's lane and violently collided.
Brian Mathurin, Father: "Two detectives came to the hospital and told me that your son was in an accident last night.."
Collin Britton and brother-in-law, Brian Mathurin, are now struggling with their emotions. Mr. Mathurin's wife just passed away, and now his son, Nickossi Mathurin is fighting for his life with severe head injuries.
Arrested at the hospital was 41-year-old John Duggan, a New York Police detective and a 20-year veteran of the force. He is charged with driving while intoxicated, but no test was ever done to prove he was drunk.
It all happened around 11 p.m. Thursday night on Woodhaven Boulevard. The officer was apparently making a left hand turn on the northbound side when his SUV collided with Nickossi's car, heading south on Woodhaven Blvd. and Furmanville Avenue.
Nickossi's uncle says that he worked as a highway inspector and was heading home from work.
Sources tell Eyewitness News that the police officer was never given a sobriety test at the scene, and in fact, a judge prevented the police from taking a blood sample to determine if he had been drinking before the accident.
Nonetheless, he has been charged with DWI. But the question now is can he get a conviction?
abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=4997947
