Bianca Bennett had been a cop for just 10 months before her death, officials said. (NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
An NYPD sergeant who struck a tree stump and overturned his car in a fiery Bronx crash that killed a young cop in his passenger seat was drunk when he careened off the road and has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Friday.
Prosecutors charged NYPD Officer Randolph Price in the death of Bianca Bennett, 27, who died when fast-moving flames consumed Price’s Dodge Charger after the Feb. 1 crash near City Island.
The two were coming home from the NYPD Firing Range when Price, who was speeding, lost control. The muscle car hit a tree stump, flipped and caught fire.
Price was pulled out of the blaze by a pair of cops who came across the accident on their way home from the range.
On Wednesday, Bronx prosecutors indicted Price for vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving.
Blood tests taken at the hospital showed that Price’s blood alcohol content was .12 — well over the legal limit of .08.
The wreck left Bianca Bennett dead and driver Randolph Price severely injured. (KEN MURRAY/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Bennett had been a cop for just 10 months before her death, officials said.
Relatives said the rookie was preparing to wed her fiancé Michael Coleman in April — two months after her death.
Sitting in a wheelchair with extensive injuries to his legs from the crash, Price pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday. He was released on $100,000 bail.
A call to his attorney was not immediately returned.
The Bronx District Attorney’s office announced the indictment on Friday — a day after Price was arraigned.
"(Price) allegedly was drinking and got behind the wheel of a car that crashed, flipped over and burst into flames,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clarke said in a statement. “A young officer who was his passenger died at the scene, her promising life cut short.”
“This tragedy is all the more senseless because it was avoidable,” she added.
- ny news
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