Former NYPD Detective Guilty Of Drunkenly Running Over Bronx Grandmother In Cop Car
James King
A former NYPD detective -- whose BAC was more than three times the legal limit when he plowed into a Bronx grandmother with a cop car -- was convicted of manslaughter yesterday.
Former Detective Kevin Spellman, however, beat the rap on the most serious charges against him (aggravated vehicular homicide and first-degree vehicular manslaughter) in the death of 66-year-old Drane Nikac, who was struck by the tipsy former detective on October 30, 2009, as she was walking near the intersection of West 232nd St. and Kingsbridge Avenue in the Bronx.
Following the accident, Spellman refused a breathalyzer test, and his BAC wasn't tested until five hours after he slammed into the Bronx grandmother while driving erratically in his NYPD-owned Chevy Impala.
At trial, Spellman's attorneys argued that the blood evidence against him had been contaminated, which may have swayed jurors to cut him a break on the more serious charges.
Blood evidence aside, witnesses told jurors that the traffic light was red when Spellman went barreling through the intersection, hitting Nikac, and that empty beer cans were found in his vehicle.
Spellman, a 22-year NYPD veteran, retired after killing Nikac. He faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced on February 15, 2013.
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/12/former_nypd_det.php?print=true