An off-duty NYPD sergeant driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway fatally struck another motorist in a head-on Westchester County crash late Thursday, according to police.
Sgt. Tiffany Howell, 47 – an 18-year department veteran – was behind the wheel of a 2021 Infiniti heading south in the northbound lanes of the Taconic State Parkway in Mount Pleasant around 11:40 p.m. when she slammed directly into a 2024 Toyota, according to State Police.
The Toyota driver, 61-year-old Peekskill resident Manuel Boitel, was rushed to Westchester Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Howell, an 18-year-department veteran, was placed on modified duty within the NYPD. FNTVHowell, who lives in Warwick, was taken to the same hospital with non-life threatening injuries, cops said.
Charges were not immediately filed.
Investigators are awaiting a toxicology report, law enforcement sources said.
Howell has since been placed on modified duty, according to the NYPD.
Sgt. Tiffany Howell, 47, was driving her Infiniti the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway when she allegedly slammed into 61-year-old Toyota driver Manuel Boitel, killing him, cops said. FNTV
Howell was taken to Westchester Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, according to police. NYPDOnline records show that Howell joined the NYPD in January of 2008, achieving the rank of detective in 2021 and sergeant in 2022.
She was assigned to her latest post, within the Youth Strategies Division, this past July, according to the records.
Howell was awarded for “excellent police duty” in both July and October of 2014, according to the records.
The fatal wreck happened in a tricky circle for motorists, where the Taconic State Parkway, Saw Mill River Parkway and Interstate 684 meet, sources said.
The deadly crash comes nearly 16 years after boozed-up minivan driver Diane Schuler, 36, drove the wrong way on the same parkway for nearly two miles before smashing into an SUV – killing herself, her 2-year-old daughter, her three young nieces and three men in the other vehicle, officials said at the time.
Toxicology reports confirmed that Schuler had knocked back the equivalent of 10 shots of 80-proof booze and smoked marijuana as recently as 15 minutes before the horrific July 26, 2009, smash-up.
A broken 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found inside Schuler’s van, which burst into flames after the crash.
