LONG ISLAND, NY - More than 200 pizza restaurants on Long Island will donate $5 from every pie sold on February 25 to the family of Nassau Police Officer Patricia Espinosa, who tragically died after being struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver while on her way into work.
The pizzerias participating can be found at Long Island Pizza Strong's website. Prosecutors stated that the 20-year-old driver's blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit, NEWS12 reported. Espinosa leaves behind a husband, who is also a Nassau police officer, and a young daughter.
Espinosa was recently laid to rest, according to the New York Post. "She just made a homicide arrest a little over a month ago, when she kicked a door down and tackled the guy who stabbed somebody," Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said of Espinosa.
"But then she'd go out, and she'd be rescuing two kittens and trying to get somebody to adopt them," he added. Espinosa was passionate about helping the area's Hispanic residents, including with a prom dress drive. "She came here, she couldn't speak English, so she learned the language, took the test, became a cop, and then she went to the fifth precinct," Ryder said.
"That's where she met her now husband, and they had the child together." Espinosa moved to the United States from Ecuador at the age of 21. Supporters have already raised more than $295,000 on GoFundMe to "honor her legacy" and help pay for funeral costs.
In a tragic twist, her husband, fellow NCPD officer Francisco Malaga, was among the cops who rushed to help at the car crash, without knowing his wife was the victim. "He stops to help, and he finds out it's his wife," Ryder said, adding Malaga had been off-duty. "The story is horrible, something movies are made of."
Her family needs financial support because there is no line of duty death settlement. "So who's going to step up and do the right thing? The community," Ryder said.
Anthony Laurino, one of the three Long Island Pizza Strong co-founders, agreed, saying, "This is just something that hits home. Everybody's friends with a cop; the world needs law enforcement. Let's face it, they're keeping us safe and risking their own lives for ours. So it's dear to all of us."
Previously, Long Island Pizza Strong was assembled only for three powerful local causes, spanning back to 2023. These included a fatal upstate bus crash carrying Farmingdale High School band members that killed beloved faculty, the murder of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller of Massapequa Park, and a deadly car crash that killed two teenagers and a driver in West Babylon.
The pizzerias participating can be found at Long Island Pizza Strong's website. Prosecutors stated that the 20-year-old driver's blood alcohol content was more than double the legal limit, NEWS12 reported. Espinosa leaves behind a husband, who is also a Nassau police officer, and a young daughter.
Espinosa was recently laid to rest, according to the New York Post. "She just made a homicide arrest a little over a month ago, when she kicked a door down and tackled the guy who stabbed somebody," Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said of Espinosa.
"But then she'd go out, and she'd be rescuing two kittens and trying to get somebody to adopt them," he added. Espinosa was passionate about helping the area's Hispanic residents, including with a prom dress drive. "She came here, she couldn't speak English, so she learned the language, took the test, became a cop, and then she went to the fifth precinct," Ryder said.
"That's where she met her now husband, and they had the child together." Espinosa moved to the United States from Ecuador at the age of 21. Supporters have already raised more than $295,000 on GoFundMe to "honor her legacy" and help pay for funeral costs.
In a tragic twist, her husband, fellow NCPD officer Francisco Malaga, was among the cops who rushed to help at the car crash, without knowing his wife was the victim. "He stops to help, and he finds out it's his wife," Ryder said, adding Malaga had been off-duty. "The story is horrible, something movies are made of."
Her family needs financial support because there is no line of duty death settlement. "So who's going to step up and do the right thing? The community," Ryder said.
Anthony Laurino, one of the three Long Island Pizza Strong co-founders, agreed, saying, "This is just something that hits home. Everybody's friends with a cop; the world needs law enforcement. Let's face it, they're keeping us safe and risking their own lives for ours. So it's dear to all of us."
Previously, Long Island Pizza Strong was assembled only for three powerful local causes, spanning back to 2023. These included a fatal upstate bus crash carrying Farmingdale High School band members that killed beloved faculty, the murder of NYPD officer Jonathan Diller of Massapequa Park, and a deadly car crash that killed two teenagers and a driver in West Babylon.
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