By Ralph Ortega
The Star-Ledger
NEW YORK — Autopsies performed on a Montvale police officer and his girlfriend, who died in a motorcycle crash in Manhattan early Saturday, concluded their deaths were accidental, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office reported yesterday.
Officer Denis Murphy, 42, and Tina Kelly, 36, were riding Murphy’s 2007 Harley-Davidson about 1:30 a.m. when they slammed into a temporary concrete barrier at West 30th Street and 12th Avenue, police said.
The accident happened in the northbound lanes, according to authorities.
“They both died of blunt impact injuries,” said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office.
Police said there was no indication that Murphy, who was driving and off-duty at the time, was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Borakove said the results of toxicology tests were pending.
Murphy was an 18-year Montvale police veteran. He grew up in Florida, was divorced and leaves behind a 13-year-old son. His ex-wife lives in Bergen County, and his mother resides in Florida.
The patrol officer was a member of the department’s motorcycle patrol unit, a certified firearms instructor and DARE instructor, according to Capt. James Frederick.
Frederick added that Murphy also served in the U.S. Army from 1984 to 1986, and was a certified instructor of Tae-Kwon-Do and scuba diving.
Murphy had been Kelly’s scuba diving instructor before they started dating a year-and-a-half ago, said Samantha Armstrong, a friend of Kelly’s. Kelly enjoyed riding with Murphy, Armstrong said.
“They were very happy,” said Armstrong. “They had a very healthy relationship.”
Armstrong said Kelly, a Brooklyn native, was from Monroe, N.Y., and that they were both sales managers for a medical publisher. Kelly also was divorced, and leaves behind a 3-year-old daughter, Armstrong said.
“It was just a freak thing,” she said. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to deal with this.”
Family members were making funeral arrangements yesterday.
Kelly’s father, Larry Kelly of Campbell Hall, N.Y., said his daughter and Murphy were “very much in love.”
“It’s a tragedy, two lovers dying together,” he said.
Copyright 2008 The Star-Ledger