By Hank Russell
New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation (OSI) has opened an investigation into a recent motor vehicle accident, in which a Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) vehicle struck and killed a Wantagh man late last week.
According to a press release provided to Long Island Life & Politics by the NCPD, on November 22, Marc Salamone was trying to cross westbound over Wantagh Avenue in the intersection of Duck Pond Drive North at 6:28 a.m., when he was struck by a marked Nassau County police vehicle. Salamone, 22, of Wantagh, suffered multiple injuries and was transported to a local area hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 a.m. by hospital staff. Two officers were also transported to local area hospitals for minor injuries.
The investigation is ongoing. The New York State Attorney General was notified and responded.
“Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person by an act or omission,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. “Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and the decedent may be armed or unarmed. Also, the decedent may or may not be in custody or incarcerated. If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident.”
LILP reached out to the NCPD for comment and was told in a statement, “We have no comment beyond the [press] release we have already put out.”