It took only seconds for an off-duty cop’s early morning FDR Drive joyride to veer into tragedy.
A three-year veteran NYPD cop racing his speeding Lexus against another car along the East Side highway was killed early Saturday after plowing his vehicle into a concrete median, catapulting a female passenger and her rookie FDNY boyfriend into oncoming traffic, police said.
The woman’s right foot was severed, while the firefighter was fighting for his life with massive injuries following the horrifying one-car wreck.
Officer Garman Chen, 25, was driving at a high rate of speed just north of the E. 23rd St. exit when he lost control of the black luxury car at 2:38 a.m. and slammed into the barrier as the one-car wreck sent a shower of gigantic orange sparks into the night sky before grinding to a halt atop the median, police said.
A high-ranking police source said it appeared Chen, who was pinned inside the twisted remains of his car, was racing against another vehicle when the fatal crash occurred.
Shortly after first responders finally cut the unconscious cop out of the crumpled vehicle, the young officer was declared dead at Bellevue Hospital.
Off-duty rookie firefighter Kenneth Larkin of Ladder Co. 10 was listed in extremely critical condition after he landed on the southbound side of the FDR, where he somehow avoided getting run down by another car, cops said. His girlfriend Amanda Remy, 25, was also sent sailing from the speeding Lexus and taken with him to Bellevue Hospital, police said.
“They’re nice people,” said Kevin Palmer, 34, a Harlem neighbor of the young couple. “They’re always humble and quiet. They’re always respectable. No fighting, no arguments. I think it must be sweet love because they’re always together laughing.
FDNY chaplain Rev. Chris Keenan arrived at Bellevue Hospital late Saturday afternoon as other firefighters descended on the Manhattan facility in support of their seriously-injured colleague.
Witnesses recounted watching in horror as the careening car scraped against the concrete median, with the mangled vehicle ultimately left teetering atop the concrete divider once it screeched to a halt.
Chen, assigned to the 76th Precinct in Brooklyn, was a familiar face to folks in Carroll Gardens. Purple bunting hung in mourning Saturday outside the precinct’s entrance.
“I was shocked because he’s so young,” said Cynthia Jiminez, 28, who works a half-block from the precinct at the Mazzola Bakery. “His partner was devastated this morning. He was crying.”
Chen was often the first customer of the day at the shop, ordering a cup of coffee and a salami sandwich, she recalled.
“He was very friendly, always polite,” said Jiminez. “We just saw him a couple of weeks ago.”
Remy was listed in critical but stable condition with severe injuries to both legs, while Larkin was found with trauma to both legs and his torso, police said. Once rescuers tore the vehicle apart, they found Chen with a massive and ultimately fatal head injury.
No other cars were involved in the crash, officials said, and what happened to the other vehicle involved in the race was unclear. Police shut down two lanes to the northbound FDR Drive for hours as they continued their investigation.
Chen was lauded by the department on Twitter for helping reunite a woman with her lost dog in March 2018.
Let’s have a round of appaws for Sector A for ending Roxie’s great escape & reuniting her w/ her family. Best “collar” of the day.
“I just saw him yesterday,” said Brooklyn pizzeria employee Jacob Ortega about the young officer. “He came in and got chicken soup. We never really talked, but he was a nice guy.”