Public Safety Officer Charged with Manslaughter, DWI

A Town of Hempstead Public Safety officer was arrested Thursday and charged with driving while intoxicated and manslaughter after he allegedly killed a man who was crossing Hempstead Turnpike, Nassau County police said on Friday.

According to detectives, Robert Core, 42, of Hempstead, was responding to an emergency call in Levittown just before 11:30 p.m. when he struck a 50-year-old male, identified as Eddie Albert Cotto, of Lindenhurst, who was crossing southbound on Hempstead Turnpike in the vicinity of Franklin Avenue. Core was driving a Town of Hempstead Public Safety Vehicle.

A volunteer Levittown ambulance crew was leaving when they heard the crash, and they responded to the scene. They transported the Cotto to NUMC, where he was pronounced dead at 11:43 p.m.

Core was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree manslaughter and DWI. He was also treated for minor injuries at NUMC. He will be arraigned "as soon as practical" at First District Court in Hempstead, according to officials.

Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and town council members extended their condolences to the friends and family of the victim.

Core is being suspended without pay pending the outcome of criminal proceedings in the matter, according to a town statement.