A car crash north of New York City that killed an on-duty police sergeant was caused by a 16-year-old driver who lost control of a sports car only two weeks after getting his learner’s permit, police said.
Yonkers Sgt. Frank Gualdino, a 24-year veteran of the force, was driving an unmarked police car Thursday when it was struck by an oncoming BMW, which then hit a transit bus. Gualdino was pronounced dead at a hospital and the teen, whose name has not been released, was in critical condition in a hospital, police said.
The driver and some passengers on the bus were treated for minor injuries.
“It looks like, basically, reckless driving,” Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza said Friday. “You have a 16-year-old with a learner’s permit, without a driver’s license, driving at an extreme high rate of speed in a very fast car.
“We lost a great friend and a great cop,” he added.
The teen, who lives in Yonkers, was driving a 2020 BMW M5 owned by a relative, police said.
In October, Gualdino was credited with saving the life of a 3-year-old boy who became unconscious at a funeral by rushing him to a hospital in his police cruiser.
(AP)