NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Long Island woman who struck and killed an NYPD officer while driving drunk and high on the Long Island Expressway in Queens in April 2021--and then fled the scene and rammed a cop car—was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Wednesday.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise imposed the maximum sentence on Jessica Beauvais, 34, in a Queens courtroom, nearly three years after she sped through a police roadblock and mowed down NYPD Det. Anastasios Tsakos as he directed traffic at an accident scene in Fresh Meadows on the morning of April 27, 2021. She was offered 16 years in a plea deal she previously rejected.
The judge called the crime so vile and overwhelming that there was no viable defense. There wasn't a dry eye in the courtroom after a victim impact statement from Tsakos' wife, Irene, who said the worst day of her life was having to tell her two children, ages 6 and 3, that their father was not coming home. She said her 3-year-old thought he could bring his father back by flying a kite that “daddy could grab onto.”
Tsakos, who was posthumously promoted to detective, was a member of the NYPD’s Highway Unit and left behind a wife and two children.
Patrick Hendry, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, joined dozens of officers to pack the courtroom for Beauvais' sentencing.
“She made the choice to drink alcohol and do drugs,” Hendry said. “She made the choice to get behind the wheel of a car.”
Beauvais, of Hempstead, was convicted by a jury in November on all counts, including aggravated manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting.
She was sentenced to 20 years on the aggravated manslaughter charge and two-and-one-third to seven years for leaving the scene.
At the time the verdict was handed down, Queens D.A. Melinda Katz said Beauvais “had absolutely no business being behind the wheel,” as her blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit, she had smoked cannabis in the hours before the crash, and she was driving with a suspended license.
After the sentencing, the D.A. said in a statement, “I hope today’s sentence provides at least some closure for the detective’s loved ones.”
Tsakos was directing traffic at a crash scene on the L.I.E., near the entrance ramp to the Clearview Expressway, just before 2 a.m. on April 27, 2021, when Beauvais sped through traffic cones in her Volkswagen Passat and struck him, prosecutors said.
The force of the collision severed Tsakos’ left leg and sent him into the air. His body landed some 170 feet away on the highway’s shoulder. He died at a hospital.
Beauvais sped away from the scene but was pursued by police for three miles to the Horace Harding Expressway, where she drove onto a sidewalk and reversed her car into a police cruiser, according to prosecutors.
Her blood alcohol level two hours after the crash was .15, nearly double the legal limit of .08. She admitted to drinking wine and smoking cannabis that day and was captured in social media posts drinking and smoking hours before the collision.
“I’m sorry that I hit him,” Beauvais said during her initial perp walk.