Motorcade Brings Fallen NYPD Officer From NYC To Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY — First responders turned out in droves to pay their respects to fallen NYPD officer Anastasios Tsakos on Monday. Tsakos, 43, of East Northport, was killed by a drunken driver on April 27, authorities said.

Tsakos's visitation is scheduled from 2 to 9 p.m. Monday at St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church, at 1 Shrine Place, Greenlawn, according to Joseph Farenga & Sons Inc. funeral home.

A motorcade began escorting Tsakos from Queens to Long Island on Monday morning.

Fire departments on Long Island honored Tsakos. The East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company and Melville Volunteer Fire Department joined together to set up a flag arch on the Pinelawn Road overpass of the Long Island Expressway. The East Northport and Greenlawn departments set up a ladder arch along Pulaski Road between Elwood Road and Stony Hollow Road.

The New York Police Department acknowledged the support it received from fellow first responders following the loss of Tsakos.

"One after another, each overpass had our first responder partners honoring NYPD’s fallen hero in a show of solidarity," NYPD wrote in a Facebook post. "We sincerely thank them for saluting Police Officer Anastasios Tsakos as his motorcade solemnly makes its way from Queens to Long Island."

Funeral services are slated for 10 a.m. Tuesday, also at the church. Tsakos will be laid to rest at Northport Rural Cemetery, at 23 Sandy Hollow Road, Northport, around noon.

Road closures are slated in Greenlawn for Tuesday morning. Pulaski Road between Broadway and Stony Hollow Road in Greenlawn will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tsakos was struck and killed by a woman accused of driving drunk on the Long Island Expressway early Tuesday, officials said. The officer was directing traffic at another fatal crash when he was struck by Jessica Beauvais, 32, of Hempstead, police said.

A 2013 Volkswagen driven by Beauvais headed east on the highway at about 1 a.m., swerved to avoid other cars, veered toward Tsakos and struck him "head-on" while he was directing traffic, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said.

Beauvais faces a slew of charges in connection to the crash, including vehicular manslaughter.

Beauvais blew a .15 BAC, nearly twice the legal limit, more than two hours after the crash, authorities said, ABC7 reported. She hosts a podcast where she made anti-police rants, though authorities don't believe it was a factor in Tsakos's death, ABC7 reported.

Multiple fundraisers were organized for Tsakos's family.

A GoFundMe and a fundraiser on Fund the First have collectively raised more than $292,000 as of Monday afternoon.