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Unlicensed 16-year-old was driving BMW that killed Yonkers cop: police

A 16-year-old driver with a learner’s permit he had for about two weeks was speeding in a BMW sports car when he lost control and crashed into a Yonkers police sergeant’s vehicle, killing the officer, cops said Friday.

The victim of Thursday’s deadly multi-vehicle collision also was identified Friday as Sgt. Frank Gualdino, a 24-year veteran of the Yonkers Police Department who served as a supervisor assigned to the Traffic Unit.

Gualdino, a 53-year-old married dad of two, was on duty and driving an unmarked 2012 Chevy Impala in Yonkers around 3:30 p.m. when the BMW M5 crossed into oncoming traffic and slammed first into the cop’s vehicle and then into a Westchester County Bee-Line bus.

The crash took place on Tuckahoe Road at the Sprain Brook Parkway overpass, police said.

Gualdino, who was nine months away from retiring, was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead from injuries to his head and body.

Yonkers police Sgt. Frank Gualdino, 53, a married dad-of-two, was killed Thursday in a head-on crash while on duty.
Yonkers police Sgt. Frank Gualdino, 53, a married dad of two, was killed Thursday in a head-on crash while on duty.
Yonkers Police Department
Video released by the police Friday shows the final moments before impact on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers.
Video released by the police Friday shows the final moments before impact on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers.
CBS News

The driver of the BMW, who has not been named because he is a minor, was hospitalized in critical condition with serious blunt force injuries, Yonkers police said.

During a press conference Friday, Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza revealed that the 16-year-old did not have a driver’s license and was operating the luxury sports car belonging to a relative with only a learner’s permit, which he obtained a little over two weeks ago.

“It looks like, basically, reckless driving,” Sapienza said. “You have a 16-year-old with a learner’s permit, without a driver’s license, driving at an extreme high rate of speed in a very fast car.”

Police said the 16-year-old was driving the blue BMW M5 belonging to a relative at a high rate of speed without a license.
Police said the 16-year-old was driving the blue BMW M5 belonging to a relative at a high rate of speed without a license.
CBS News

Yonkers police released a video obtained from a witness showing the final moments before the collision.

In it, the blue 2020 BMW M5 is seen speeding before apparently losing control and crossing the double-yellow line into the path of Sgt. Gualdino’s car and the county bus.

The driver of the Bee-Lee bus suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and some of the 30 passengers were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Police said they have spoken to the owner of the BMW, who was described as a relative of the 16-year-old. The teen lives in Yonkers with his family and attends a private school.

Gualdino suffered catastrophic injuries to his head and body while driving his unmarked 2012 Chevy Impala.
Gualdino suffered catastrophic injuries to his head and body while driving his unmarked 2012 Chevy Impala.
CBS News
The BMW also collided with a Bee-Line bus, injuring its driver.
The BMW also collided with a Bee-Line bus, injuring its driver.
CBS News

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano described Gualdino as someone who was “very, very well-respected” by his colleagues and the community he served.

Commissioner Sapienza said Gualdino was “a great friend and a great cop.”

The sergeant was honored in October for saving the life of a 3-year-old boy who lost consciousness during a funeral procession for a former corrections officer.

“Frank was a great guy,” Sapienza said. “He was a personal friend. He was an asset to this job, he was a credit to this job, and he was a credit to the community, and this is a tragic, tragic loss for us.”

Gualdino is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their two children, ages 14 and 20.

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