Former NYPD officer Stanley Cadet and civilian Kayla Lopez have been indicted and arraigned on multiple serious criminal charges, including manslaughter, in connection with an incident that resulted in the death of Anna Wilson and left three others injured. Attorney General Letitia James announced the charges that relate to a high-speed collision that occurred on May 11, 2024, in West Islip. As per the official press release from the Attorney General's Office, Cadet, 27, and Lopez, 28, are facing indictment for charges spanning Manslaughter in the Second Degree to Reckless Driving.
The crash occurred during the early hours when Cadet and Lopez were reportedly driving at speeds exceeding 100 MPH on a local boulevard. The prosecution alleges that both individuals ran a red light and drove alongside each other on a single-lane roadway, eventually colliding and causing Wilson's fatal ejection from one of the vehicles. The former officer was off-duty and utilizing his personal vehicle at the time. Cadet and Lopez are scheduled to reappear in court on November 17, with the potential maximum sentence being between five and fifteen years in prison. According to the press release, they have been released on supervised release following their arraignment before Judge Ambro in Suffolk County.
Under the Empire State's Executive Law Section 70-b, any incident where a police officer may have caused an individual's death, whether on or off duty, triggers an assessment by the Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI). Following Governor Kathy Hochul’s executive order on August 8, the Attorney General’s Office was appointed as a special prosecutor for circumstances surrounding Wilson's death and the injuries of another passenger.
The criminal charges have been filed during a period of increased attention to police conduct, both on and off duty. As the case proceeds, it is important to note that the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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