DRUNK OFF-DUTY COP FLIPS CAR INTO TIFFANY'S

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Bronx Accident Attorney)

On Saturday, February 13, 2010 at about 3:00 in the morning, off-duty police officer Raphael Ospina, age 27, was driving while drunk. His Chrysler 300 clipped a garbage truck, jumped the curb, struck a tree and a garbage can, flipped over and smacked into the front of the New York's famous Tiffany store on Fifth Avenue.

Ospina, a resident of Fresh Meadows in Queens, had two passengers in the car; all were hurt in the accident. Firefighters had to cut them out of the Chrysler.

The three men were taken to Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital and treated there for injuries from the crash. One of Ospina's passengers fractured his arm, while the off-duty officer broke three ribs and suffered a head laceration. The other passenger hurt his back and will require back surgery for his injury.

The driver of the garbage truck, while shaken, was not hurt in the accident.

Ospina, who joined the N.Y.C. police department in 2004 and is assigned to the 25^th Precinct, was charged with DWI and vehicular assault. He's been suspended without pay.

Comment:  While technically an "accident," this occurrence doesn't bode well for P.O. Ospina's career in law enforcement.