Two NYPD cops killed in Bronx crash

Inattentiveness contributed to a Bronx crash early Sunday in which an off-duty NYPD officer slammed into a guardrail, killing himself and another officer and injuring four women in the car, one critically, police officials said.

Officer Kim Hoyoung, 32, of the Bronx, was at the wheel of a Nissan Altima with Officer Edwin Paulino, 25, in the front seat at 6:30 a.m. as they traveled north on the Bronx River Parkway.

They were headed to Hoyoung's home with four women in the backseat when Hoyoung swerved into the guardrail near the 233rd Street exit, the New York City Police Department said. The impact flipped the four-door sedan and sheared off much of the roof.

The officers, who were pinned inside the destroyed Nissan, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The women were thrown from the car. They were taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, police said. Police said Iris Gomez-Ramirez, 27, was the most seriously injured, in critical condition with "multiple body fractures."

Two 26-year-olds and a 20-year-old had broken bones and other injuries. Two of the injured women are sisters.

The crash was still under investigation but it appeared that Hoyoung's attention left the road just before the impact, police said.

No other vehicles were involved and there was no evidence that alcohol or drugs played a factor, police said. Autopsies were to be done by the city medical examiner's office.

Paulino and Hoyoung both worked in a Manhattan-based "impact" unit that pairs rookies with experienced officers to target high-crime areas. Both victims were based at the 32nd Precinct in Harlem and had been on the force two years.