The off-duty NYPD sergeant who drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway and killed a Peekskill man last week has filed for retirement, records show – a move that could preserve her pension if she is not fired following a potential arrest.
Last Thursday, Sgt. Tiffany Howell was returning from a police function, traveling north on the Westchester highway, when she drove southbound in the northbound lanes and collided head-on with Manuel Boitel, 61, killing him, according to the New York State Police.
As of Wednesday, she had not been charged with a crime. State police said they were still examining her blood alcohol level almost a week after the crash.
Neither Howell, her lawyers, nor the union representing NYPD sergeants responded to multiple requests for comment.
According to social media posts, Howell is the treasurer of the NYPD Holy Name Society, a Catholic fraternal organization that held a social event in Scarsdale the night of the crash. According to another post, Howell helped organize the $150 dinner and cigar event featuring an open bar at Mom's Cigar Warehouse, about 10 miles from the site of the accident.
Howell worked in the department's Crime Control Strategies unit and has been with the NYPD for 18 years.
The department can fire Howell in the next 30 days, effectively denying her pension. A department spokesperson did not return requests for comment.
The New York attorney general's office is also investigating the incident, as required under state law when a police officer is involved in a death.
