The family of a beloved Con Ed worker broke down in court as a retired NYPD detective was charged Thursday with fatally shooting him during a senseless road-rage incident on the George Washington Bridge.
About a dozen relatives of 46-year-old father of two Koran Irvine packed a Manhattan courtroom and could be heard sobbing when a prosecutor revealed how ex-cop Victor Romero allegedly failed to call 911 after the vicious Tuesday night shooting.
“The defendant left the scene. He did not call 911, and he did not turn himself in,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Matt Sears said at Romero’s arraignment.
Romero was hit with manslaughter charges and ordered held on $1 million bail at the hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court.
“He tailgated him closely and at times aggressively,” Sears said at the hearing. “The defendant’s gunshot entered the back passenger window and struck the victim in his right shoulder, killing him.”
Romero, 62, retired from New York’s Finest 25 years ago, and was working as a driver and private security guard for a Manhattan hedge fund, according to police and sources.
The former cop is married and lives in a quiet townhouse community in Haverstraw, also in Rockland County, with neighbors telling The Post he was an almost perfect neighbor.
But prosecutors said Romero allegedly lost his cool on the Jersey-bound GWB, firing a single shot into Irvine’s car around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Irvine was rushed to Englewood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to sources, Romero, who formerly worked with Brooklyn North Narcotics before he retired in July 2001, did try to surrender to the NYPD after the bridge incident but went to the wrong stationhouse, and was later arrested.
Romero’s Defense attorney Alan Abramson asked for lower bail, citing his police background.
“My client was a hero police officer,” he argued.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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