Sep 29, 2009 6:17 am US/Eastern
Woman Mowed Down By Alleged Drunk-Driving NYC Cop
NYPD: Officer Andrew Kelly Was Over Legal Limit, But Attorney Says Alcohol May Not Have Been Main Factor
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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An off-duty NYPD officer is under arrest, charged with driving drunk and killing Vionique Valnord, the daughter of a Brooklyn pastor.
CBS
Two Brooklyn police officers have been suspended without pay and one has been arrested for vehicular manslaughter following an alleged drunk driving incident this weekend.
Friends and family of the victim are watching the case closely – with some demanding justice and some seemingly ready to forgive.
The victim killed this weekend lived in the apartment over her father's church on Rogers Avenue. The church was shuttered Monday; the family in mourning. A police officer is accused of causing her death.
The cop in cuffs hung his head in shame after it happened. Officer Andrew Kelly, 30, was at the wheel of his jeep driving with a car-load of buddies, including another officer, when it struck and killed 33-year-old Vionique Valnord.
Detectives said they smelled booze on him. Nearby residents are watching the case for signs of special treatment.
"My primary concern that the driver being an officer might not go according to what should happen," neighbor Eli Guillaume said.
At Kelly's home in flushing Monday no one came to the door and neighbors said the married father of two worked so much he was rarely seen on the block.
"I think he worked a crazy schedule. I work some days, so I wouldn't see him for days and days and that's the way it was. I have no idea if he was a drinker or not a drinker," one neighbor said.
The victim had been attending a wedding reception at a VFW. She was leaving and led her godchild by the hand. CBS 2 HD has been told she left her child at the curb and stepped out into the street to hail a cab. That, witnesses said, is when the jeep ran her down. It screeched to a halt and the driver jumped out, horrified.
Kelly stayed and tried to help, but the others in the car left. That, at least, is something. A friend of the victim said he envisions Vionique's father -- the church pastor -- finding forgiveness.
Although the pastor is going through his pain, you know, he will take into consideration the family of that police officer, that they are going through their situation with what has happened," family friend Ian Martine said.
In court Sunday night as his client made bail, Officer Kelly's attorney said the weather conditions had a lot to do with the accident. It was dark and rainy. Alcohol, he suggested, may not have been the dominate factor.
Officer Kelly is free on $200,000 bail and has been ordered to enter mandatory treatment for substance abuse.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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