NY cop charged over death of Guyanese woman in accident

Neville Smith, a detective from the New York Police Department (NYPD), who is accused of being the drunk driver behind the wheels of the vehicle which was involved in the fatal accident that claimed the life of Guyanese, Vanessa Raghubar was charged with criminally negligent homicide during a brief hospital arraignment yesterday, officials said.

Vanessa Raghubar

The New York Daily News reported that Smith, 32, was also charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving for crashing his 2010 Mercedes-Benz into Raghubar’s vehicle on the Van Wyck Expressway near Rock-away Blvd. in South Ozone Park at about 4 a.m. Sunday. At the time of the fatal crash, Smith was off duty.

Raghubar, a psychology student at York College preparing to graduate in June, suffered a massive head injury and bleeding on the brain, and succumbed on Monday at Jamaica Hospital.

Raghubar was driving home from her sister’s birthday celebration when the fatal collision took place, heartbroken family members said.