AG: MTA officer in fatal pedestrian Route 110 crash won't face criminal charges

An investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office has determined that an MTA police officer involved in a fatal crash with a pedestrian last year in North Amityville should not face criminal charges.

Officer Richard Moffatt was off duty when he struck Jose Francisco Escobar Vasquez with his personal vehicle while driving south on Route 110 on March 15 last year, James’ office said in a statement on Thursday.

"In this case, the evidence does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s conduct was a gross deviation of the standard that would have been observed by a reasonable person in the same circumstances, or that the officer failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death," James said in a statement.

Moffatt had just finished his shift and left MTA Police District 2 in Bethpage, according to the AG’s report on the crash. He was driving south in his personal vehicle on Route 110 shortly after midnight when he struck Vasquez near the intersection of Route 110 and Francine Avenue.

A witness who was driving two or three cars behind Moffatt’s vehicle told investigators that Vasquez had stumbled into oncoming traffic before he was hit. The witness said Vasquez either climbed over a divider fence and fallen into traffic or crossed Route 110 without stopping at the divider.

The report said there was no evidence that Moffatt was speeding, distracted, impaired by drugs or alcohol, or driving in a reckless manner. The investigation found that Moffatt was driving between 43 and 47 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone, which the report said is not considered dangerous speeding.

The intersection where Vasquez was hit does not have traffic signals, pedestrian signals, stop signs or a marked crosswalk, James’ report said. Weather conditions were cold and rainy and the area of the collision was dark.

The attorney general’s office investigates every instance in which a police officer, correction officer or other law-enforcement officials may have caused a death. Under New York State law, the AG’s office launches an investigation, regardless if the officer is on duty or off-duty.