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Off-Duty Cop From Westchester Pleads Guilty In Crash That Killed Friend

 A New Rochelle police officer who was drinking off-duty when he crashed his vehicle in January, killing his best friend, has pleaded guilty to his role in the fatal incident.

Harry Kyreakedes

Harry Kyreakedes

Photo Credit: Facebook

Harry Kyreakedes pleaded guilty in Westchester County Court on Friday to a felony charge of first-degree vehicular manslaughter and aggravated driving while intoxicated after being indicted by a grand jury in May.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. said that at approximately midnight on Jan. 2, Kyreakedes was out drinking with friends, including his victim, 27-year-old Isaac Ward, at a bar in Dobbs Ferry. After a “period of time,” they then drove to White Plains to frequent a different watering hole.

According to Scarpino, shortly before 3 a.m., all four men left White Plains, taking two cars. While driving on Mamaroneck Avenue, Kyreakedes lost control of his SUV, crashing into a parking meter, stop sign and tree before coming to a rest in front of CVS, between Rutherford Street and Livingston Avenue.

Both Ward and Kyreakedes sustained serious injuries. Ward was given CPR at the scene and transported to White Plains Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Kyreakedes, who was pinned in the driver’s compartment following the crash, had to be extricated from the vehicle, suffering extensive injuries to his leg.

Kyreakedes, a Dobbs Ferry High School graduate, underwent a series of surgery at Westchester Medical Center, where samples of his blood were obtained through a court order and search warrant. Police said that samples of Kyreakedes’ blood showed that his blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash was greater than .18 percent - more than double the legal limit.

New Rochelle City Manager Chuck Strome said that with the criminal case concluded, they will seek to terminate Kyreakedes, according to a lohud report.

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