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Leonardo Rodriguez-Mendoza

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 : Killed by police vehicle

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 Leonardo Rodriguez-Mendoza, 46, and Marcelo Pelaez as they crossed Woodhaven Boulevard in the northern crosswalk at Rockaway Boulevard.
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New York City Department of Transportation surveillance video recorded the collision. The video showed Hurtado driving in the left northbound lane with a green traffic signal as Rodriguez-Mendoza and Pelaez entered the crosswalk against the pedestrian signal. Woodhaven Boulevard is eight lanes wide at the intersection and had a posted speed limit of 30 mph.
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NYPD collision reconstruction calculated that Hurtado was traveling 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 calculation.
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Hurtado stopped immediately after striking the two men. Seven people called 911, including Hurtado, who reported that he had struck two pedestrians and requested medical assistance. Rodriguez-Mendoza and Pelaez were transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Pelaez died shortly after the collision.
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Rodriguez-Mendoza sustained a traumatic brain injury and remained unresponsive in a vegetative state. He remained hospitalized for seven weeks before dying on 07/14/2021. His death certificate listed complications of blunt-impact injuries to the head and torso as his cause of death and classified the manner of death as accidental. No autopsy was performed because authorities were unable to locate Rodriguez-Mendoza's family and the hospital did not request one.
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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 left with his family at approximately 11:22 p.m. and later stopped at a Burger King before the collision.
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NYPD did not administer an alcohol test to Hurtado at the crash scene. The Collision Investigation Squad did not arrive until nearly two hours after the collision. Hurtado subsequently passed three field-sobriety tests but declined a breathalyzer test. NYPD suspended him for 30 days for refusing the breath test.
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NYPD disciplinary proceedings later established that Hurtado violated department rules by refusing the chemical breath test. Hurtado pleaded guilty to the departmental charge on 07/25/2023, and the NYPD disciplinary tribunal recommended forfeiture of the 30 suspension days he had already served.
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The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation investigated Rodriguez-Mendoza's and Pelaez's deaths. OSI reviewed surveillance video, witness accounts, NYPD records, collision reconstruction and the circumstances surrounding Hurtado's alcohol consumption and delayed sobriety testing.
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DISPOSITION:
On 06/28/2023, OSI declined to criminally charge Hurtado. OSI concluded that prosecutors could not prove criminally negligent homicide beyond a reasonable doubt, citing the traffic-signal evidence, Hurtado's speed, the absence of a contemporaneous blood-alcohol measurement and witness observations that did not establish impairment.
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OSI found that NYPD's patrol guide required a qualified patrol supervisor to administer an alcohol test to an officer involved in a fatal collision. Because Hurtado was not offered a breath test until nearly two hours after the crash, OSI recommended training all NYPD patrol supervisors to administer breathalyzer and field-sobriety tests so officers involved in fatal crashes could be tested promptly.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
NYPD records showed Hurtado had no prior departmental disciplinary history before the fatal collision. His driving record contained 2015 convictions for improper use of a bus lane and failure to wear a seatbelt.
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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