A retired New York police detective has been charged with manslaughter after prosecutors say he shot and killed a man in a road rage incident on a bridge earlier this week.
Prosecutors said the shooting led to a crash on the George Washington Bridge connecting Manhattan and New Jersey at about 7 p.m. on Oct. 20. Retired NYPD Det. Victor Romero, 62, and Koran Irvine, 46, nearly collided before Romero fired a gun, killing Irvine, and then drove off, according to to prosecutors in court documents, reported the USA TODAY Network's Rockland/Westchester Journal News.
Romero, who was initially charged by police with second-degree murder, pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter on Oct. 22 in a Manhattan court. Bail was set at $1 million. USA TODAY
has reached out to an attorney listed as representing Romero for comment.
Outside the courthouse, Irvine's family members decried the lower charge and the setting of bail.
"Would someone regular, without having a job as a police officer, get the same treatment and a bail offer, when you intentionally kill someone and fled the scene?" Gale Forde, Irvine's aunt, said.
What happened in fatal road rage shooting?
Prosecutors in court documents said that Romero's SUV and Irvine's Volkswagen Golf nearly collided while they were approaching the George Washington Bridge. The men were both residents of Rockland County outside New York City. Irvine, a married father of two, was on his way home from work at the Con Edison utility company.
After the near crash, Romero tailgated Irvine "aggressively," drove up alongside him and fired a single shot into Irvine's car, killing him, they said.
The bullet was fired as both cars were moving, according to the documents. It went through the rear passenger window of Irvine’s car, and hit him in the shoulder. His car then lurched across all the New Jersey-bound lanes and struck the center median. He was taken to Englewood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Then, Romero sped off the first exit from the upper level of the bridge, a prosecutor said in court.
Romero surrendered to police on Oct. 21. According to arraignment documents, Romero turned over a loaded revolver he said he always carries. Two other handguns were recovered at his home and all three are undergoing testing to determine which was used in the shooting, records show.
Family of road rage shooting victim speaks out
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Matthew Sears called the killing particularly senseless and said a high bail was necessary because Romero did not stop, did not call 911 and faces significant prison time.
The New York City Police Department previously said on Oct. 21 that Romero was arrested on a murder charge, but on Oct. 22, he was arraigned on a manslaughter charge.
A murder charge would have accused Romero of intentionally killing Irvine or showing a depraved indifference to his life. The manslaughter charge alleges that he caused Irvine’s death while trying to seriously injure him. Prosecutors could still pursue a murder charge once they present the case to a grand jury next week.
Irvine's family members described him as a devoted father.
Forde, Irvine's aunt, questioned whether justice would truly be served in comments outside the courtroom. Zeria Irvine, Koran Irvine's little sister, said her brother's shooting and crash could have caused other fatalities.
At times sobbing, she said of the accused Romero, "To go and have dinner that same night, and my brother was not able to go home and have dinner with his children or his wife? ... And they say he's not a flight risk?"
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Retired NYPD cop accused of fatally shooting man in road rage incident
