Cop Hits, Kills Man While Talking on Cell: Report

Witnesses say an NYPD officer who struck and killed a pedestrian Saturday was talking on her cell phone during the accident, police sources tell DNAinfo. Paula Medrano, who was not in uniform nor responding to an emergency at the time, was driving a police van when she turned left onto a Brooklyn street and hit Felix Coss. They both had a green light, but Medrano didn't yield to Coss, police say. He was knocked down, his head hit the pavement, and he was declared dead upon arriving at the hospital.

When eyewitnesses told police they saw Medrano on her cell at the time, Internal Affairs asked to see the phone; she refused, so the phone records were subpoenaed, law enforcement sources say. It's illegal to talk on a cellphone while driving in New York. (More distracted driving stories.)