A 23-year-old Guyanese college student was seriously injured in a car accident involving a vehicle driven by a drunk police officer.
Guyanese Nickossi Mathurin, who suffered a broken jaw, skull fractures and a collapsed lung, among other serious injuries, is listed in stable condition.
Mathurin is a highway inspector.
The officer, John Duggan, 41, is also listed in stable condition with injuries to his ankle and head.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Woodhaven Boulevard and Furmanville Avenue in Rego Park. Both men were taken by ambulance to Elmhurst Hospital.
The off duty detective was charged with driving while intoxicated and was placed on a 30-day suspension without pay pending the outcome of a criminal investigation.
Police have filed drunken driving charges against Duggan based on the testimony of a witness who said he smelled alcohol from the detective’s breath right after the accident. Duggan refused to take a breathalyzer test to determine his alcohol blood content. Investigators said signs of intoxication such as slurred speech and unstable posture were inconclusive because the suspect suffered head injuries.
Investigators were blocked by a criminal court judge from running a blood test for alcohol level. The said that the smell of alcohol in his breath is not substantial enough to merit a search warrant (alcohol level in blood). But police are confident that the witness testimony would be enough to convict Duggan.
Reports say Mathurin was unconscious for days but recently began breathing on his own and is now responding to stimuli. His injuries were life threatening but doctors upgraded his condition from critical to serious but stable. He is a part time student at CUNY College of Technology. His father said he plans to sue the city for the near fatal injury of his son.
