Tragic accident leads to attorney general investigation

In the early hours of Saturday morning, tragedy hit home when 53-year-old Hempstead resident Adrian Wilburne was struck in a fatal collision in Oceanside, as he attempted to cross the intersection of Merrick Road and Oceanside Road around 2 a.m.

According to reports, Wilburne was struck by a 2020 Honda Accord that was being driven by an off-duty NYPD officer and headed east on Merrick Road. Wilburne suffered severe trauma from the hit and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the crash by a Nassau County Police Medic.

State law requires the Office of Special Investigations, or OSI, to review deaths that may have been caused by on-duty and off-duty police officers, corrections officers and other peace officers. If the review indicates the officer caused the death, OSI will conduct a full investigation.

The Nassau County Police Department has remained tight lipped about the situation — not releasing much information surrounding the accident as they are still currently investigating the incident. Additionally, the New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations, or OSI, has announced on Monday morning that they are initiating a separate investigation into this incident due to the driver of the honda accord — whose identity is currently undisclosed — being an off-duty officer in the city.

“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,” said New York State Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. “Under the law, the officer may be on-duty or off-duty, and if OSI’s assessment indicates an officer may have caused the death, we then proceed to conduct a full investigation of the incident.”