A Long Island police officer described the harrowing experience of responding to a fatal drunken driving accident only to discover the victim was his own wife. Francisco Malaga, a Nassau County police officer, testified in court during the sentencing of Matthew Smith, the driver responsible for the crash that killed his wife, Officer Patricia Espinoza.
On Jan. 31, Malaga was on patrol when he arrived at the scene of the accident. He recounted his immediate realization that his family had been irrevocably shattered upon seeing his wife, 42-year-old Patricia Espinoza, in the wreckage. "I came upon the crash moments after it happened and I stopped, because that’s what police officers do," Malaga stated in Suffolk County court. "I thought I was responding to help someone I had never met. Instead, I found my wife, Patricia. Nothing in my years as a police officer prepared me for that moment. I watched the love of my life slip away — and that image will stay with me the rest of my life."
Smith, 21, had been binge drinking at a bar before getting behind the wheel. He reportedly mocked friends who urged him not to drive. According to authorities, Smith drove through a red light at approximately 70 mph in a 30 mph zone and collided with Espinoza's vehicle. A blood-alcohol test later revealed Smith's level was more than twice the legal limit. A bottle of Bacardi rum and a shot glass were found in his truck.
Espinoza was transported to Stony Brook Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She and her husband, also a police officer, were raising their young daughter.
Smith pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular manslaughter and other charges. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half to 22 years in state prison. During the sentencing, Espinoza's brother, Philadelphia Police Officer David Almeida, also spoke, describing his own experience responding to tragedies as an officer and the profound difference when it impacts his own family. "Nothing prepares you for the phone call that changes your life forever, nothing prepares you to bury your best friend, nothing prepares you to watch a little girl grow up without her mother, because someone chose to drink and get behind the wheel," he said.
Relatives shared that Espinoza, who immigrated to the US from Ecuador with her family 20 years prior, had a career dedicated to public service. "She made people laugh. She made people feel safe. She made everyone around her feel loved. She dedicated her life to protecting complete strangers as a Nassau County police officer. But to us, she was simply Patty," said her sister, Cathalina Ramirez.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney stated, "No sentence can restore what was taken from Officer Espinosa’s loved ones, but today this defendant begins paying the price for his conduct. He was intoxicated, speeding, and lawless behind the wheel of a 5,000-pound pickup truck, and a police officer on her way to serve her community paid with her life."