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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 470-10
November 15, 2010

STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON THE DEATH OF POLICE OFFICER ANDRE MENZIES, STRUCK BY A DRUNK DRIVER DRIVING THE WRONG WAY ON A DIVIDED HIGHWAY

The following are the remarks of the Mayor as delivered today in the City Hall Blue Room:

"Good afternoon. Before we talk about why we're here - the announcement of the day -  let me just say that it is my sad duty to report the death of a New York City police officer who was killed this morning when a drunk driver struck his car head-on. Coming on the heels of an accident on Saturday night that critically injured a teenage girl on City Island, which also involved an apparently intoxicated driver; this is just another tragic reminder of the deadly danger of drunk driving. So make no mistake about it, we are determined to stop drunk driving now - before the holiday season gets into full swing. We don't want any more of this kind of carnage that we saw this weekend.

"The specifics are that this morning around 12:05 a.m., Police Officer Andre Menzies, 35-years-old, who was off-duty at the time, was driving east on the Northern State Parkway. His car was struck head-on by a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on a divided highway. Officer Menzies, a nine-year veteran of the NYPD, died at the accident scene. The driver of the car that hit Officer Menzies' vehicle, a 50-year-old Brooklyn man, was given a sobriety test by the Suffolk County officers. He failed it, and was arrested.

"Officer Menzies was assigned to duty in public housing in Queens and he had gone off duty at 11:30 p.m. Sunday. He leaves a wife, Natasha; they have a son and daughter, ages nine and seven. As I mentioned earlier, on Saturday night, Emily Sexton, 17-years-old, was struck by an out-of-control pickup truck that left the roadway and pinned her to the door of an apartment building at a bus stop near her home on City Island. The driver of the pickup was arrested at the scene. Emily was taken to Jacobi Medical Center; thankfully, she's expected to survive, but she sustained many injuries and is still in critical condition. 

"The bottom line is we are not going to let drunk drivers inflict more death and suffering. And as we get into the holiday season, I know everybody wants to enjoy themselves, but you're not going to enjoy what happens to you if you take somebody's life or cause injury to somebody. You just have to think a little bit before you start driving. If you're going to drive, don't drink. If you're going to drink, don't drive. There are plenty of ways that you can get a ride home. Nothing is as important - no reason you have to get home is important enough to put somebody else's life in danger."







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser / Jason Post   (212) 788-2958

Paul Browne   (NYPD)
(646) 610-6700




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