Bronx Cop Hits Pregnant Woman's Car, Drives Away

Witness Julio Llerandez, crash victim Sanija Kurtovic, and Officer Shirley Perez-Romero, the cop accused of sideswiping her.

Bronx resident Sanija Kurtovic is eight months pregnant, and she got quite a scare the other day when her parked car was sideswiped as she was about to get out. But what's even scarier is that the vehicle that hit her was an NYPD cruiser, and the driver allegedly fled the scene. Kurtovic says that after her car was hit, she ran up to Officer Shirley Perez-Romero, who was stopped at a red light. But the cop allegedly played dumb, acting as if she didn't realize an accident had occured. Kurtovic says the officer told her she would do a U-turn and file a report, but instead Officer Perez-Romero just drove off.

Kurtovic didn't take the plate number because she "automatically assumed she's a cop, she's going to do the right thing." But bystander Julio Llerandez (who, if you watch the video, you'll see is basically THE MAN) saw it all happen, telling Fox, "I got everything. I got the plate number, the precinct, I seen a female driving it." Llerandez even went with Kurtovic to file a police report with the 49th precinct, explaining, "I feel bad for her. She's pregnant. Could have been my mother."

Now Kurtovic's lawyer says she's suing the NYPD and the city. An NYPD spokesman denies the hit-and-run, insisting that a supervisor responded to the scene and immediately conducted an investigation, and Officer Perez-Romero may face disciplinary action. Fox stalked the cop in their exclusive segment, but unlike her Pluto-loving colleague on Long Island, she had the good sense not to comment. Check out the video below, and be sure to stay tuned for the 1:30 mark, when our new personal hero Julio Llerandez makes his cameo.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on October 14, 2009 9:56 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

The punishment for cops that commit crimes and offenses should be worse than for anyone else. A dishonest cop is worse than any criminal out in the street.

5borough

Sould pay then be more too? Can't have it both ways.

5borough

I wouldn't trust anyone in this story.

The cop: I doubt a report would've been filled out if she didn't admit hitting the door.

The pregnant woman: What is she suing for? What are her damages? She needs a new door for her car. Is the slip and fall lawyer really needed? Sounds like the accident was her fault.

The witness: He admitted he didn't see the car get hit "It must've hit the door."

Another 20K of taxpayer money out the window.

Steven

NYPD has tons of problems with all the stories on Gothamist. Seems like there is a bad cop story at least once every other day.

potsmoker

she cant comment because a tampon run was not approved by her supervisor.

Landon

Another example of police taking advantage of their civilian given power! Disgusting!! Disciplinary action???? What about criminal charges???? I am sorry but she deserves to be in jail like every other violator that does a hit and run. In fact, I believe she should do MORE time than civilians! I know that there is a need for cops, but I cannot stand them. Do they even bother to write "To serve and protect" on cruisers anymore? Hmmm..

fishfryin

ok the cop is at fault for driving so close and hitting her door, but it's ridiculous how she acts like if it had happened 1 second later she would have been out of the car and directly hit by the cop. i guess she doesn't bother to look before she opens her door on a major road? look at the damage on her car; the cop hit her door, she didn't sideswipe the whole car. the cop is a jerk but i'm having a hard time getting worked up for the lawsuit.

Snoopy

It's mostly about leaving the scene of an accident, not about if the accident was caused by one or the other.

I'm sure if it was the other way around the cops would have gotten out with their guns drawn.

fishfryin

lol point taken. i still don't see the need for a lawsuit, but maybe she'll surprise us all and actually just sue for damages or something

billybob

Disgusting, I saw the same thing happen in Sunnyside only the guy was mowed down by an undercover cop at a Queens blvd. and sent 15 feet in the air.

http://copwatch.com/AAAindex.html

barryap

You know, when the first thing on the site is about how the cops shouldn't be lauded for 9/11 because not as many of them died as did firefighters, I tend not to take the rest of it seriously.

Nyctini11

Of course the cop fled the scene, she was next seen pulling into a body shop, and later emerged with a shiny new bumper and paint job. What accident??

whitecastlerock

Suing the NYPD and the city? wow

gossipgirl

UGH!

PTG in nyc

Cop or not, females are great at hitting stationary objects with their vehicles. Men do more disastrous things though, like drive drunk and kill pedestrians.

Being that she was a cop, obviously she felt above the law and not obliged to do the right thing.

imadick

women do that too. see: west side highway, taconic parkway

mrgetgood

Also, men are more likely to cling to tired stereotypes, but women are just awful.

Snoopy

The driver was a cop and a woman? That is a recipe for disaster if I ever saw one.

What did the supervisor say about the incident? Maybe it's time to put the individual out to pasture if he says nothing happened.