An NYPD cop who retired on disability was arrested for a Long Island hit-and-run accident that killed a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome, officials said Tuesday.
Michael Elardo, 48, of Syosset, surrendered to police and was arraigned in First District Court in Nassau County for leaving the scene of Sunday’s accident.
The ex-cop, held in lieu of $1 million bail, faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
Bryanna Soplin, 13, was crossing Hempstead Turnpike at Gardiners Avenue in Levittown just after midnight Sunday when a blue Chrysler Town and Country minivan — believed to be Elardo’s — hit her and fled the scene.
Bryann a’s family said the girl had wandered away from her Levittown home and may have been trying to get to her grandfather’s house in Hicksville.
“I am happy that he turned himself in but it’s still not going to bring my baby back,” the girl’s devastated mom, Jennifer Curuchaga, told The Post.
“I just want to know why he left her there to die.”
Elardo’s lawyer said his client did not stop because he believed he had hit a traffic cone and was unaware that he had struck a child.
“He did not believe that he hit a person,” said attorney Michael DerGarabedian, adding that Elardo turned himself in within hours of the accident.
Elardo worked for the NYPD from 1987 to 1998 as a firearms-tactics instructor before retiring on a disability pension, sources said. The department would not say how he was injured on the job.
His family told WNBC/Channel 4 that he is a decorated cop who once saved an infant from a fire.
“He is always there to help everybody. This is just a tragic accident,” said his uncle Roger Nicolette. “It’s horrible for both families.”
Elardo is due back in court Thursday.
Additional reporting by Daniel Prendergast