Manhattan Man Sentenced for Hit-and-Run that Killed Off-Duty Cop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, July 17, 2026

Manhattan Man Sentenced for Hit-and-Run that Killed Off-Duty Cop

Driver Hit Victim's Motorcycle with Truck on Brooklyn-Queens Expressway,
Left Scene of Incident

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Manhattan man has been sentenced to up to four years in prison in connection with leaving the scene of an incident after striking an off-duty police officer who was riding a motorcycle on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, "The defendant's actions demonstrate a callous disregard for those around him. Despite knowing he caused a serious traffic incident, the defendant left the scene. While nothing can replace Officer Pena or fully heal the grief and loss of his family and friends, I hope this prison sentence provides some sense of closure. My Office will continue working tirelessly to ensure that Brooklyn's streets are safe for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians."

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Carlos Almanzar Toribio, 31, of Manhattan. He was sentenced today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Christopher Robles to an indeterminate term of one-and-one-third to four years in prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of leaving the scene of an incident in which serious injury or death results on April 21, 2026.

The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on August 27, 2025, at approximately 8:45 a.m., on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, the victim, an off-duty NYPD officer, was driving his personal motorcycle westbound on the highway when he and his motorcycle were struck by and forced under a box truck driven by the defendant. The victim was ejected onto the roadway, while the defendant continued to operate the truck, dragging the victim's motorcycle for nearly 600 feet before the defendant stopped his vehicle.

The defendant then attempted to remove the victim's motorcycle from underneath the truck by hand before re-entering the truck, driving over the motorcycle and continuing westbound.

NYPD detectives from the Collision Investigation Squad responded to the scene and, using continuous video surveillance footage, traced the defendant's truck to the Gravesend area of Brooklyn, where they apprehended him. Upon further examination, detectives found the defendant had removed a temporary license plate that had been affixed to the truck and replaced it with another temporary plate. The detectives found the original temporary plate on scene, torn into multiple pieces. A search pursuant to a warrant also recovered a footpeg from the victim's motorcycle in the cab of the truck. Video surveillance footage depicts the defendant removing the footpeg from the truck's rear tires.

The victim was taken to NYU Langone Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The case was investigated by the NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christopher Dunne, of the District Attorney's Blue Zone Trial Bureau, with the assistance of Assistance District Attorney Ashley Infante, also of the Blue Zone, and Assistant District Attorney Christopher Velez, Deputy Chief the District Attorney's Street Safety Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kin Ng, Chief of the Blue Zone, and Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Nocella, Chief of the District Attorney's Street Safety Bureau.

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