Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Milagros Bonet

September 21, 2026

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James' Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Milagros Bonet, who died on May 4, 2023 following a motor vehicle collision on October 6, 2022 involving a member of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the Bronx. Following a thorough investigation, which included review and analysis of video footage from a nearby security camera and body-worn camera (BWC) footage, interviews with the involved officers and civilian witnesses, review of a medical examiner's autopsy report, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI determined that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the involved officer committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued in this matter.

On October 6, 2022, at 3 p.m., NYPD officers were driving in a marked police vehicle with lights and sirens on in response to a 911 call reporting a stolen vehicle. As the driving officer approached the intersection with Hoe Avenue, he attempted to pass a civilian vehicle that was stopped at the intersection. The officer drove around the stopped car into the opposite lane of traffic. The civilian driver turned left onto Hoe Avenue as the officer's vehicle drove by, and the two cars collided.

The officer driving the police car lost control of the vehicle, drove up onto the sidewalk, and collided with a group of pedestrians - including Ms. Bonet - who were standing on the sidewalk across from the intersection. Several people sustained injuries, including Ms. Bonet. Ms. Bonet was transported to a local hospital and died seven months later, on May 4, 2023, from complications related to injuries she sustained during the collision.

Under OSI's analysis of New York's Vehicle and Traffic Law, Penal Law, and case law from New York's highest court, a police officer who causes a death while properly responding to an emergency in a police vehicle cannot be charged with a crime unless the officer acts recklessly or intentionally. The criminal charge that requires recklessness is Manslaughter in the Second Degree, in which a person is guilty when they recklessly cause the death of another person. "Recklessly" means that the person consciously disregards a "substantial and unjustifiable" risk of death and that their actions are a "gross deviation" from a reasonable standard of conduct.

In this case, while the collision caused Ms. Bonet's death, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer's conduct was a gross deviation from the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable officer in the same circumstances, or that the officer consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death. The officer was responding to an emergency, and he took precautionary measures by activating the vehicle's brightest emergency lights and loudest siren. The officer did not drive faster than 40 MPH at any point, and he believed that the civilian's car at the intersection had stopped for him to make an emergency pass. There was not any evidence that the officer was impaired by drugs or alcohol, or that he was otherwise distracted at the time of the crash. OSI therefore will not pursue charges against the officer.