Regional Briefs – August 12, 2019

NY Police Officer And Her Passenger Die In Fiery Car Crash

NEW YORK (AP) — A 24-year-old off-duty New York Police Department officer and her passenger have died after a car driven by the officer veered off a Manhattan parkway, hit a tree and erupted in flames.

Police identified the victims of the 3:45 a.m. Sunday crash as 24-year-old Kimberly Lajara and 32-year-old Oscar Monegro. Police say Lajara was a member of the 121st Precinct in Staten Island.

Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, “We’re mourning the loss of one of New York’s Finest today.”

Police say Lajara was driving a white 2016 Mercedes Benz south on the Henry Hudson Parkway near West 98th Street when she lost control and crashed into a tree in the median.

Chain-Reaction Car Crash Kills Bicyclist In Brooklyn

NEW YORK (AP) — Police say a bicyclist has been killed and a pedestrian and driver are injured after a car slammed into a sports utility vehicle in a Brooklyn intersection.

Police say an 18-year-old man was driving a 2019 Dodge Charger that struck the SUV broadside around 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The SUV hit a 52-year-old bicyclist, who was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police identified him as Jose Alzorriz of Brooklyn.

Transportation Alternatives said the bicyclist was the 19th killed on New York City streets in 2019, compared to 10 in all of 2018.

TSA: Newark Airport Sets Screening Record, More Than 80K

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Transportation Security Administration officials say it has been a record-breaking summer at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport.

TSA agents screened a record 80,596 passengers and crew members at the airport on Friday. That broke the previous record of 79,467 set the day before, on Thursday. The number has been growing since April.

NY Tweaks Harassment Standard, Easier To Prove Claims

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Victims of workplace harassment in New York will no longer have to prove the conduct was “severe and pervasive” to make their case in court.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new legal standard for harassment Monday. It eliminates the “severe and pervasive” standard that employment attorneys and victim advocates said made it hard to file a successful claim.