Prosecutors in Brooklyn have “deferred” the case of an off-duty cop charged Sunday for his role in a deadly, high-speed crash that cost a woman her life.
Rohan Shaw, 47, was booked on a slew of charges including manslaughter in connection with the death of Joanna Dixon, 23, who died in the Dec. 8 wreck at the corner of Foster Avenue and East 55th Street.
On Monday, however, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office told amNewYork that that they declined to prosecute Shaw at this time “for insufficient evidence,” but the investigation remains ongoing.
A source familiar with the case told amNewYork that prosecutors would likely build a case against Shaw for presentation to a grand jury in pursuit of an indictment.
Shaw, said by sources to be a member of the NYPD Counterterrorism Unit, was initially charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, speed violation and driving while alcohol impaired (DWAI).
A DWAI charge results from the blood alcohol count of a suspect being above .05%, but below the .08 legal limit; the charge is generally filed at an officer’s discretion. Officials did not provide a blood alcohol reading for Shaw at this time.
Also, drivers found to be under the influence of alcohol are taken to the 78th Precinct Intox Driver Testing Unit for a blood test. It was not clear if this was done.
Officials from the DA’s office said those results are not immediately available as this is an “ongoing investigation.”
The crash occurred shortly before 6 a.m. on Dec. 8, as Shaw was driving east on Foster Avenue in his 2019 Nissan Sedan when he struck a Mazda operated by a unidentified driver. Dixon and a friend were inside the Mazda at the time of the crash.
Sources said the Mazda allegedly blew the stop sign while turning left from East 55th Street onto west-bound Foster Avenue and was hit by Shaw’s sedan. The Mazda spun around and struck a light pole in front of a Verizon maintenance shop on Foster Avenue, at which point, the driver of the Mazda fled the scene.
Dixon — who had been celebrating her birthday hours earlier — was pronounced dead at Brookdale University Hospital and the other woman is in serious, but stable condition at Kings County Hospital.
Shaw was held in custody at the 63rd Precinct most of the day without formal charges with an announcement by the NYPD Office of Public Information of the charges at 11:28 p.m. on Dec. 8.
Colin Dixon, father of the young woman who was killed, said he was “stunned” to learn that the DA’s office had “deferred prosecution.”
“Our heads are not in the right place right now, but I do believe in the justice system and I believe it will work,” Dixon said. “I’m told they are waiting for some reports to come back and other things. I don’t want to pass judgment without all the facts.”
He said they had high hopes for their daughter who was attending college for liberal arts.
“She was doing undergrad work in liberal arts – she wanted to be an accountant, but now, she’s gone and we have to deal with that and its very hard,” Dixon said.
A memorial was set up by friends and family at the scene of the crash, a photo of Dixon hanging on a telephone pole in the middle of Foster Avenue. Family members say funeral arrangements are underway.
Meanwhile, cops are still looking for the driver of the Mazda who left Dixon and her friend behind.
