A NYPD sergeant who was driving the night he crashed his car in the Bronx killing a rookie officer has been indicted, a district attorney announced Friday.
Prosecutors indicted sergeant Randolph Price on second-degree vehicular manslaughter and two counts of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol for the February 2017 off-duty crash on City Island that left 27-year-old Bianca Bennett dead.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said in a press release that Price, 33, ‘allegedly was drinking and got behind the wheel of a car that crashed, flipped over and burst into flames’.
Bianca Bennett, 27, was killed in February 2017 in a car crash in the Bronx
Bennett was in the passenger seat of NYPD sergeant Randolph Price’s vehicle when he lost control and crash after he had allegedly been drinking
The vehicle hit a stump on City Island Road, flipped over and burst into flames. Price was pulled from the vehicle, but Bennett could not be saved
The accident happened on City Island Road shortly before midnight on February 1 as Price and Bennett were headed home from the Rodman’s Neck shooting range.
Price was allegedly speeding when he lost control of his 2012 Dodge Charger and hit a stump causing the car to flip over on its roof and burst into flames.
Bennett, who was seated in the passenger seat, died at the scene of ‘thermal injuries.’.
led from his engulfed Charger by two other off-duty NYPD officers who were driving home from the range. He suffered severe injuries to his legs.
An investigation revealed that Price had allegedly been drinking the night of the crash and had a blood alcohol level of .12, higher than the legal limit of .08.
‘This tragedy is all the more senseless because it was avoidable,’ Clark said in the news release.
Bennett had joined the NYPD 10 months before the crash. Her family said she was months away from marrying her fiance Michael Coleman when she was killed.
Price had a blood alcohol level of .12 the night of the crash, higher than the legal limit of .08
The officer joined the NYPD about 10 months before her death
Bennett was months away from marrying her fiance when she was killed, her family said
Price, who worked with the police department for eight years, was arraigned on Thursday, a day before the indictment was announced. His bail has been set for $100,000.
He’s due back in court on February 21 and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top charge.