Queens, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Jessica Beauvais, 35, of Hempstead, Long Island, has been sentenced to over 20 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of NYPD Detective Anastasios Tsakos. The tragic incident occurred in Fresh Meadows on the Long Island Expressway, where Detective Tsakos was managing traffic around a previous fatal collision. At the time of the accident, Beauvais was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, with a blood alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit, and driving with a suspended license.
Detective Tsakos was fatally struck by Beauvais’s vehicle, a 2013 Volkswagen Passat, as he stood beyond a roadblock designed to divert traffic from the scene of the earlier accident. The impact resulted in the severance of Tsakos’s left leg at the knee and propelled his body approximately 170 feet from the point of impact. Beauvais fled the scene without stopping, leading to a police chase that ended with her arrest three miles later.
Following a 13-day trial in October, Beauvais was convicted of aggravated manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise sentenced her to 20 years for the aggravated manslaughter charge and an additional two-and-one-third to seven years for leaving the scene, with the sentences to run consecutively, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
District Attorney Katz emphasized the recklessness of Beauvais’s actions and expressed hope that the sentencing would bring some closure to Detective Tsakos’s family. The case highlights the severe consequences of driving under the influence and the importance of responsible driving to prevent such needless tragedies.