An off-duty NYPD cop died and an off-duty FDNY firefighter was critically injured early Saturday when the police officer’s speeding Lexus slammed into and mounted a median on the FDR Drive, police said.
The black luxury car was heading north on the highway towards the E. 23rd St. exit when 25-year-old Garman Chen, who is assigned to the 76th Precinct in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, lost control of the steering wheel and hit the median about 3:30 a.m., cops said.
His passenger, a 25-year-old firefighter, was thrown from the vehicle and landed on the other side of the highway into oncoming traffic, but, miraculously was not hit by another vehicle.
A 24-year-old woman in the backseat also suffered severe injuries to her legs, cops said.
Witnesses told police that gigantic sparks flew into the air as the car scraped against the concrete median. The mangled vehicle ultimately ended up teetering atop the median.
First responders had to tear the vehicle apart in order to get to Chen, who was unconscious behind the wheel with a massive head injury, and the woman in the rear seat.
Medics rushed all three to Bellevue Hospital, where the young cop died.
The firefighter, who sources say is assigned to Ladder Company 10 in Lower Manhattan, and the woman were both listed in critical but stable condition.
Officer Chen was a regular at the Mazzola Bakery about a half-block from the precinct, where workers were stunned to hear of his passing.
Chen’s partner broke down in tears when he heard about the cop’s death, worker Cynthia Jimenez, 28, said.
“He would always get a salami sandwich,” Jimenez said. “His partner would park right there. His partner was devastated this morning, he was crying.”
“I was shocked because he’s so young,” she said. “We just saw him a couple of weeks ago.”
No other cars were involved in the crash, officials said. It’s believed that the car was speeding before it crashed into the median.
Police shut down two lanes to the northbound FDR Drive for hours as they continued their investigation.
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