Inset left: Bridgeport Police Officer Cooper Whiteside (State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan). Inset middle: Melissa Ramirez (Danbury Police Department). Inset right: Brittany Anne Islami (Obituary). Background: A section of Sugar Hollow Road in Danbury, Connecticut (Google Maps).
A tragic incident in Connecticut has led to the arrest of a woman accused of fatally striking an off-duty police officer and his girlfriend with her vehicle.
Melissa Ramirez, aged 27, faces two counts of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle for the deaths of 38-year-old Bridgeport Police Officer Cooper Whiteside and 34-year-old Brittany Anne Islami. Additional charges include illegal operation of a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, and lane violations, according to an announcement from the Danbury Police Department on Friday. Read the full release here.
Ramirez is currently being held on a $500,000 bond.
The heartbreaking event happened on July 13 when Whiteside and Islami were on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle traveling along Sugar Hollow Road in Danbury, a city situated approximately 65 miles from Manhattan, New York.
At about 2:45 a.m., Ramirez was driving her jeep when she allegedly smashed into the motorcycle. The two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, regional ABC affiliate WTNH reported.
Ramirez’s Jeep had extensive front-end damage, News 12 Long Island added, citing police. Authorities also said that the defendant had to be removed from the vehicle and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Islami worked as a caretaker and personal assistant, according to her obituary. She had three children — ages 12, 10, and 7 — and “was always the life of the party and lit up every room she walked into. She was so special, in a way that only people who truly knew her would understand.”
Whiteside “dreamed of becoming a police officer” from a young age, his own memorial states. “He was a musician (a skilled violinist and piano player), an outdoor enthusiast, certified rescue diver, a handy-man and an epic jokester.”
“After only 2 years on the force, Cooper had made of himself an officer of distinction, never wavering in his purpose to serve and protect with integrity, humility, and compassion,” his obituary adds.
The post Off-duty cop riding Harley-Davidson with mother of 3 smashed into by intoxicated Jeep driver, killing them both: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.