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Marcelo Pelaez

Age : 46

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 05/24/2021

Location : Woodhaven Boulevard and Rockaway Boulevard

City : Queens

County : Queens

State : New York

Agency : New York City Police Department

Officer(s) :Angelo Hurtado

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Pedestrian killed after being struck by off-duty police officer

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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NARRATIVE:
On 05/24/2021, at approximately 12:26 a.m., off-duty NYPD Officer Angelo Hurtado was driving his personal black Honda Accord northbound on Woodhaven Boulevard with his wife and three-year-old daughter when he struck Marcelo Pelaez, 35, and Leonardo Rodriguez-Mendoza as the two men crossed Woodhaven Boulevard in the northern crosswalk at Rockaway Boulevard. Hurtado was assigned to the NYPD's 61st Precinct.
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New York City Department of Transportation surveillance video recorded the collision. The video showed Hurtado had a green traffic light and Pelaez and Rodriguez-Mendoza entered the crosswalk against the pedestrian signal. Woodhaven Boulevard was eight lanes wide at the intersection, with a posted speed limit of 30 mph.
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NYPD collision reconstruction calculated Hurtado's speed at approximately 35 to 39 mph immediately before impact, five to nine mph above the posted speed limit. An independent crash-reconstruction expert retained by the New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation reviewed the evidence and corroborated the NYPD speed analysis.
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Hurtado stopped immediately after striking the two men and called 911 at approximately 12:29 a.m. Pelaez and Rodriguez-Mendoza were transported to Jamaica Hospital. Pelaez was pronounced dead on arrival at 2:46 a.m. His death certificate listed multiple blunt-force trauma injuries as the cause of death. Rodriguez-Mendoza sustained a traumatic brain injury, remained hospitalized in a vegetative state and died on 07/14/2021.
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Surveillance video obtained during the investigation showed Hurtado drinking what appeared to be three beers while visiting friends between shortly before 10:00 p.m. and approximately 11:00 p.m. Hurtado and his family left at approximately 11:22 p.m. and later stopped for food before the fatal collision.
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NYPD officers did not administer an alcohol test to Hurtado at the scene. The Collision Investigation Squad arrived nearly two hours after the collision. Hurtado then passed three field-sobriety tests but declined a breathalyzer test. NYPD suspended Hurtado for 30 days because he refused the breathalyzer.
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The Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation investigated the deaths, reviewing surveillance video, witness statements, NYPD records and crash-reconstruction evidence. OSI criticized the delay in attempting to obtain an alcohol measurement and recommended that NYPD train patrol supervisors to administer breathalyzer and field-sobriety tests so officers involved in fatal crashes can be tested promptly.
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DISPOSITION:
On 06/28/2023, OSI announced that it would not criminally charge Hurtado. OSI concluded that prosecutors could not prove criminally negligent homicide beyond a reasonable doubt based on the available evidence, including Hurtado's speed, the traffic signals, the lack of evidence establishing his blood-alcohol concentration at the time of the crash and witness observations after the collision.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Angelo Hurtado's DMV record documented 2015 convictions for improper use of a bus lane and failure to wear a seatbelt. NYPD suspended him for 30 days after he declined the breathalyzer following the fatal collision.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES: 2 fatalities

SOURCE LINKS :

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/attorney-generals-office-special-investigation-releases-report-deaths-marcelo
https://www.thelegaladvocate.com/news/breaking/marcelo-pelaez-ozone-park-pedestrian-crash-rockaway-woodhaven
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/reports/osi-palaez-and-rodriguez-report-6.28.2023.pdf