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The development in the case, which centered around the December 2022 crash that killed Yonkers Police Department Det. Sgt. Frank Gualdino, was announced by the Yonkers Police Department on Thursday, Nov. 30.
A 16-year-old Yonkers boy had been criminally charged with one count of criminally negligent homicide in connection to the crash in late October. However, the boy's case will now be transferred from the Youth Part of Criminal Court to Family Court.
The department said that the court system had the authority to transfer the case because of the teen's age and charge, which met qualifications set by legislation.
"We are hopeful that despite the change in venue, appropriate justice will be delivered for all involved," the department said.
On the day of the crash, Thursday, Dec. 1 around 3:30 p.m., Yonkers officers responded to the Sprain Brook Parkway overpass on Tuckahoe Road to a reported crash that involved an occupied Westchester County Bee-Line bus, a 2020 BMW M5, and an unmarked Yonkers Police vehicle identified as a 2012 Chevrolet Impala.
The police vehicle's driver, Gualdino, a 53-year-old Mahopac resident, later succumbed to his injuries at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. The teenage suspect was taken to an area hospital in critical condition after the crash.
In the days after the crash, investigators determined that the boy had lost control of the BMW while speeding, causing it to swerve into the opposite lane of traffic and hit the Impala and the bus. The boy had not had a driver's license at the time of the crash and instead had a learner's permit obtained three weeks before, police said.
The boy's identity was not released because of his young age. He had originally been indicted by a Westchester County Court Grand Jury on Friday, Oct. 27 for one count of criminally negligent homicide.
"We thank the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office for all of their effort in prosecuting this case and for their continued support," Yonkers Police said in a statement.
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