Funeral held for man killed in crash after NYPD pursuit as family calls for further investigation
A funeral was held Saturday for a man who died in a car crash in Upper Manhattan after a police pursuit.
Francisco Andres Guzman Parra, 31, was allegedly speeding and driving a stolen vehicle on the Henry Hudson Parkway on April 2 when officers began pursuing him, officials say.
Guzman Parra eventually crashed on Dyckman Street in Inwood, and the vehicle caught fire.
NYPD sources tell CBS New York the two officers in pursuit returned to their stationhouse without reporting the crash. The FDNY later responded to a report of a car fire at the scene of the crash, and Guzman Parra was found dead in his vehicle.
"We need to know what happened"
Sisters Shakira and Francis Guzman say they need answers about their brother's final moments.
"We're asking for updates. We need updates. We need to know what happened," Shakira Guzman said.
Guzman Parra was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in the Bronx, and was a father of two.
"He had a lot of family members and friends that really cared about him," Shakira Guzman said.
The family's attorneys are now conducting their own investigation.
"I mean, you would think that police officers, the people that are supposed to protect us, protect the community, that they would do their job, but they didn't," Shakira Guzman said.
Police union president says officers lost sight of vehicle
The officers involved remain on leave while an internal investigation takes place.
Patrick Hendry, the head of the Police Benevolent Association, told the New York Times the officers lost sight of the car and didn't know it crashed.
"These police officers were on patrol, attempting to address chronic crime conditions in their precinct. This incident is under investigation, and that investigation must be completed without any rush to judgement," Hendry said in a statement.
"We've had nothing in our investigation so far to corroborate their allegation that they somehow lost the vehicle," said Jeremy Feigenbaum, an attorney for the Guzman family.
"If you was to do that or if I was to do that as regular citizen people, we would go to jail. What makes them different?" Shakira Guzman said.
The NYPD has not named the officers because their investigation is still underway. The New York attorney general's office is also conducting an investigation.
