Raphael Ospina, Off-duty Cop Who Plowed Into Tiffany's Window, Charged with DWI
Officer Raphael Ospina, 27, of the 25th Precinct in East Harlem has been charged with DWI and vehicular assault after his Chrysler 300 bounced off a garbage truck on 57th Street, took out a street tree and a garbage can, and careened into the front of Tiffany's at 3am Saturday morning.
Police believe that Ospina's car hit a garbage truck as it turned the corner from 57th Street to 5th Avenue and bounced off onto the sidewalk, where it flipped and landed in the front window of the jewelry store.
Firefighters had to cut the roof off the car to free Ospina and his two passengers, who were taken to Bellevue. One passenger had a broken arm, while the other passenger and the driver escaped with cuts and bruises. Juan Santiago, who co-workers are identifying as the driver of the Five Star Carting garbage truck, was uninjured.
If a blood alcohol test was administered, police have not yet released the results. "Officials" told the news that a champagne cork was found in the totalled Chrysler.
Ospina has been suspended without pay.
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