By Susana Enriquez and Andrew Strickler, Staff Writers
Newsday
An 18-year veteran state trooper was killed yesterday in a car accident after hitting a patch of black ice while on patrol in East Quogue, state police said.
Jose Rosado, 45, of Deer Park, is the first state trooper stationed on Long Island to die in the line of duty in 10 years.
“It’s a sad day for the state police,” said Maj. Walter Heesch, commander of Troop L in Riverside.
Nancy Rosado, 37, described her estranged husband as a dedicated law enforcement officer who poured his energy into his job.
“He liked things to go by the book, everything by the law,” said Rosado, of Manorville, adding that they were separated but planning to move back in together. “No matter how strict he was, no matter how tough, there were a lot of people who loved him. “
Rosado arrived at the barracks at 7 a.m. for a 12-hour shift, Heesch said. He was traveling south on County Road 104 south of Sunrise Highway about 9 a.m. when he hit black ice on a curve and lost control of his patrol vehicle, a 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe. It spun around into the northbound lane and struck a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban.
The driver of the Suburban, Linda Ogeka, 47, of Quogue, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center. She suffered a fractured ankle and was later released, Heesch said.
Rosado, a father of a 17-year-old daughter, Angelica, and 12-year-old son, Joseph, died at the scene.
“God always takes the good people,” said Rosado’s cousin, Carlos Mantos, 41, of Brentwood. “He was a good father. “
Nancy Rosado said Jose came to New York after finishing high school in Puerto Rico, and worked as a correction officer for about six years before becoming a state trooper.
“He was completely devoted to that job,” she said.
The couple married in 2003 and took a monthlong trip to the Dominican Republic and to Puerto Rico to visit Rosado’s mother.
William Rosano, 36, of Deer Park, said he met Nancy Rosado at a car dealership several years ago. After the pair struck up a friendship talking about cars, Jose Rosado moved into a Deer Park apartment in Rosano’s mother’s house - she lives next door to William - in 2004. Rosano said that on his rare days off, Rosado would often work on his red 2002 Corvette.
“He was really into cars,” Rosano said. “He was a fussy guy, always took meticulous care of his stuff. “
In a statement, Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Rosado’s death was “another sobering reminder of the dangerous nature of police work. “
The last time a member of the state police stationed on Long Island was killed on duty was 1997.
A witness who was traveling behind Rosado before the accident yesterday said the trooper was driving at the speed limit, about 50 mph, Heesch said.
Rosado is not believed to have been responding to a call, since no radio transmissions had been sent to or received from his vehicle, Heesch said.
It was not clear whether he was wearing a seat belt.
Kevin Maund, a sales manager at Florence Building Materials, was sitting in the back office when he heard a thud, followed by an employee yelling for somebody to call 911.
“It sounded like lumber fell off a truck,” Maund said.
When he went outside to see if his employees had been injured, he saw the smashed vehicles across the street. Other cars were having trouble stopping, he said, because they were also sliding on the ice.
Surveillance video from a camera on the outside of the building supply business was confiscated and will be reviewed by investigators, Heesch said.
Heesch, who viewed the video, said it showed the crash followed by a cloud of smoke. “The sudden impact was evident,” he said.
Copyright 2007 Newsday, Inc.