The Jersey City police officer who killed a woman while driving under the influence of alcohol in Lower Manhattan has been sentenced to up to 10 ½ years in prison and his partner, who was with him at the time, has been disciplined by the department.

"This is a tragedy for many families, especially the family of that young woman, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them," Jersey City Police Chief Tom Comey said yesterday of Marilyn Feng, 26, who was killed by Officer Martin Abreu.

Michaelangelo Conte of NJ.com writes that in the early morning of Feb. 7, 2009, the 26-year-old officer was driving near Battery Park when he plowed into Feng and her boyfriend, Dennis Loffredo, as they crossed West Street at Albany Street, police said.
The aspiring lawyer died at the scene, and her 26-year-old boyfriend was critically injured.

New York police said Abreu’s blood-alcohol level was .124, well over the .08 legal limit. They also determined he was driving twice the speed limit. On Dec. 16, Abreu pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide.

When sentenced Tuesday, Abreu told the judge, "There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could trade my life for the victim’s. Every day I live this. I’m going to live it for the rest of my life," according to press reports.

Comey said Abreu was immediately suspended without pay following his arrest. The chief said the department will terminate Abreu when the official paperwork is forwarded from the New York courts. Abreu became a Jersey City police officer in 2005.

The Police Department has not identified Abreu’s partner, who was a passenger in the vehicle driven by the drunk officer the morning Feng died. Comey said "the other officer has been disciplined," but provided no further details.