NY police sergeant killed after learner driver, 16, hits him two weeks after getting his permit

A veteran New York police sergeant who was nine months from retirement was killed when a 16-year-old, who had received his permit just three weeks prior, hit him in a BMW M5.

Married father of two Sergeant Frank Gualdino, 53, was struck in his patrol car in Yonkers on December 1 when the boy lost control and slid into an oncoming lane.

Guadlino, a 24-year veteran, was on-duty and driving an unmarked 2012 Chevrolet Impala during the horror smash.

Since the BMW driver was a minor his identity has not been released.

He was in critical condition with extensive blunt force injuries after the crash and taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx along with Gualdino, who later died.

Gualdino has left behind his wife, 14-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter.

Dashcam video from a car traveling in the same direction as the BMW showed it lose traction and spin into oncoming traffic.

Sergeant Frank Gualdino (pictured), 53, who was a married father of two, was struck in his patrol car in Yonkers on December 1 when the boy lost control of the BMW and slid into the oncoming lane

A dashcam video filmed from a car traveling in the same direction as the BMW showed it lose traction and spin into oncoming traffic

Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza described Gualdino, who was due to retire in August, as a ‘cop’s cop’.

‘Frank was a great guy. He was a personal friend, he was an asset to this job, he was a credit to this job and he was a credit to the community,’ Sapienza said at a press conference on Friday morning, local newspaper The Journal News reported. 

‘This is a tragic, tragic loss for us,’ he added. Mayor Mike Spano also voiced commiserations, Fox 5 reported. 

‘Our hearts are heavy as the City of Yonkers has experienced an insurmountable loss. Sgt. Frank Gualdino was a cop’s cop and the epitome of Yonkers Finest,’ he said.

‘Yonkers is a close, tight-knit community, and when we lose one member of our law enforcement community, we all feel a sense of grief,’ Spano added.

‘Frank was someone we all know and loved.’ The BMW also collided with a Westchester County bus.

The bus driver and some of the passengers were treated for smaller injuries at the scene.

The 24 year veteran of Yonkers police Guadlino was on-duty and driving an unmarked 2012 Chevrolet Impala when the crash happened on Thursday evening

The BMW also collided with a Westchester County bus. The bus driver and some of the passengers were treated for smaller injuries at the scene

‘Our hearts are heavy as the City of Yonkers has experienced an insurmountable loss. Sgt. Frank Gualdino was a cop’s cop and the epitome of Yonkers Finest,’ said Mayor Mike Spano

Gualdino lived in Mahopac with a wife, a daughter in college and a teenage son. He was promoted to sergeant in 2019 after 21 years of service and became a supervisor in the traffic unit, according the The Journal News.

It reported that back in October Gualdino saved the life of a three-year-old boy who became unconscious at his grandfather’s funeral. Gualdino rushed the boy to hospital in his squad car.

The mayor also spoke of the teenage boy and tragedy for his family. ‘We were all 16 once. We have teenagers in our families,’ he said.