The widow of an NYPD trafficker killed in a hit-and-run accident suffered a breakdown earlier in the day as the woman accused of causing his death went on trial.
Irene Tsakos had to be temporarily escorted out of Queens Supreme Court earlier today as the manslaughter trial into the death of her husband Anastasios Tsakos began.
Jessica Beauvais is accused of killing the NYPD Highway Officer on the Long Island Expressway while drunk after filming a video criticizing police while the song “F**k Tha Police” played in the background.
Tsakos, 43, had been directing traffic following a fatal highway crash in Queens in April 2021, when he was reportedly struck by a Beauvais Volkswagen.
The court heard gruesome details of Tsakos’ injuries after he was knocked out of his knee-high police-issue boots and thrown almost 60 metres.
Anastasios Tsakos (pictured) was directing traffic away from a fatal highway crash in Queens in April 2021 when he was struck by a Volkswagen
Jessica Beauvais (pictured in court today) is charged with the murder of the NYPD Highway Officer on the Long Island Expressway
Irene Tsakos, Anastasios’ widow, is pictured here entering the Queens Supreme Court as the trial of her husband’s death began
The New York Post reported that Kevin Beverly, a Presbyterian paramedic from New York, told the court, “His face was split in half.”
Tsakos’ widow cried in the gallery as Beverly continued, “There was a lot of facial trauma, a lot of swelling, bleeding, bleeding from the ears, bruising on the neck.”
“He had an amputation of his left leg at mid-knee.”
Tsakos’ widow was temporarily escorted from the courtroom when she collapsed, before prosecutors showed crime scene photos of the officer’s broken body.
The outlet reported that Tsakos’ face was covered in blood, with his eyes closed and his mouth open and stuffed with gauze, and his nose visibly broken.
Photos from the scene show his boot lying on the road, as well as his hat, which was blown off in the crash.
The After also reported that Assistant District Attorney Greg Lasak Jr. during opening arguments said, “His organs and bones were crushed. His leg was amputated. He landed 50 meters after impact.
“She left him there on the side of the road to die, without his leg.”
Beauvais faces 13 charges, including second-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors say she was high on drugs and had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit when she allegedly struck Tsakos.
The court heard gruesome details of Tsakos’ injuries after he was knocked out of his knee-high police-issue boots (pictured) and thrown almost 60 metres.
The hat Tsakos was wearing is seen here at left in evidence photos taken the night he was killed
Tsakos was temporarily escorted from the courtroom when she collapsed, before prosecutors showed crime scene photos of the officer’s broken body
Beauvais faces 13 charges, including second-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors say she was high on drugs and had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit when she allegedly struck Tsakos.
On the night of the crash, Beauvais filmed herself in a Facebook livestream addressing the trial of white ex-cop Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.
During the livestream she criticized police officers and the judiciary and played NWA song ‘F**k Tha Police’.
Throughout the video, Beauvais is seen vaping and drinking an unknown dark liquid from a plastic cup, and at one point washes down the contents of a red shot glass with a bottle of Snapple.
Beauvais also claimed that if she ever had a fatal encounter with police, she would make sure she was not the only victim.
“Like (hip-hop group) NWA says about the police, if you’re going to kill me, at least I can take someone with me,” she told listeners.
‘I’m one of those people. If I go, someone will come.”
Beauvais posted a 1 hour and 51 minute livestream on her Facebook page. At one point she washes down the contents of a red shot glass (above)
Investigators examine the vehicle that struck and killed New York Police Department officer Anastasios Tsakos
Beauvais then allegedly got behind the wheel of her Volkswagen and drove into Tsakos on the Long Island Expressway in the early morning hours.
Lasak also told the court: ‘She admitted during the podcast that she had taken an injection. She admitted after the podcast that she drank another shot of liquor.
‘Her eyes were bloodshot and watery, she was unsteady on her feet and her speech was slurred.
“There was a pink liquid in her cup holder. A strong mixed drink. Her other cup holder in the center console contained an ashtray containing cannabis.”
The Post reported that her attorney, Jorge Santos, at one point told jurors, “If Officer Tsakos had not gotten into my client’s car, he would still be alive today.”
This was immediately objected to by prosecutors, and the judge had the comment expunged from the record.
Beauvais faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the charges.
Tsakos grew up in Greece and New York City before serving in the Greek army after high school
After being arrested, so is Beauvais would have cried at fellow officers in a police car and said, “Why did my first accident have to be a cop?”
“Not that I wanted it to be anyone else, but fuck, I’ve been driving since I was 16 and I haven’t even hit a hole in the road yet,” she said.
As she was led from a police station in May 2021, she sobbed to reporters and said: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hit him and now he’s dead.’
Tsakos, affectionately known as “Tasso,” was a married father of two and had recently moved to the East Northport neighborhood of Suffolk County before his death.
He grew up in Greece and New York City before serving in the Greek Army after high school.
Tsakos went to work at his father’s restaurant on Long Island before studying aviation in college to pursue his dreams of flying helicopters for the NYPD.
At his funeral, Tsakos was posthumously promoted to the rank of detective, as hundreds of mourners paid their respects.
Police officers carry Tsakos’ coffin. His work and private motorcycles were also put into service for the enthusiastic motorcyclist
Irene (pictured with their two young children) paid tribute to her husband and said she hoped she had ‘made him proud’
Tsakos’ wife was supported by her husband’s family who flew in from Greece
Subsequently, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea announced that he was promoting Tsakos to detective first class, presenting his widow with a gold detective shield.
Shea also praised the officer who made nearly 200 arrests during his career and would actively pursue drunk drivers in pursuit of justice.
Tsakos’ widow also gave an emotional speech to mourners at the church, telling how he was an adoring father to their children.
‘I will miss everything about him. Everything. Most of all, I will miss his hugs,” she said during the service.
“I wish he had more time – to see our children grow up, see them go to college and get married. I wish we could grow old together. That was the plan. But he was taken from us too soon.”