Jessica Beauvais found guilty of aggravated manslaughter in death of NYPD Officer Anastasios Tsakos on Long Island Expressway
NEW YORK - A Long Island woman was convicted of killing an NYPD detective Tuesday.
Jessica Beauvais, 34, was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter in the hit-and-run death of NYPD Officer Anastasios Tsakos.
Beauvais was charged with hitting the highway officer while he was investigating a crash on the Long Island Expressway in 2021.
Prosecutors say Beauvais was speeding, drunk driving and smoking marijuana at the time. Sources told CBS New York she blew a .15 -- nearly double the legal limit.
Police said Beauvais ignored traffic cones and flashing lights before hitting Tsakos with her Volkswagen Passat.
With her windshield smashed, police said she drove off, dragging a safety cone past several exits. She was eventually arrested, and prosecutors claim body camera video captured her asking an officer, "What did I do?"
Police added she was driving with a suspended license.
"I'm sorry that I hit him and that he's dead," she told reporters at a Queens police precinct days after the deadly crash.
Beauvais previously rejected a plea deal that would have included 16 years in prison. She now faces up to 15 years.
Tsakos was a 14-year veteran with the NYPD and left behind a wife, Irene, and two young children.