EMT & NYPD Safety Officer Busted For Drunk Driving Over Thanksgiving Weekend

Cops arrested two off-duty city employees in two separate incidents for blatant drunk driving over the holiday weekend.

FDNY Emergency Medical Technician Oneil Hunter, 35, was arrested on Flatbush Avenue and Caton Avenue on Friday, November 25 at 5:30am, after swerving into a lane of traffic, said cops. Responding officers noticed Hunter’s eyes were bloodshot, he was slurring his speech, and his breath reeked of alcohol. Cops also discovered a bottle of Hennesy behind the driver’s seat.

Hunter was charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI), driving while ability impaired (DWAI), and failure to signal.

Then on Sunday, NYPD School Safety Agent Quintina Escobar-Balmir, 26, was arrested after she barreled through a red light and almost slammed into a cop car on Church Avenue and Coney Island Avenue at 6am, said cops. She was charged with a DWI and DWAI.

These two arrests weren’t the first off-duty city employees to be apprehended in the 70 Precinct this year. In late June, a drunk detective was arrested after crashing into several parked cars near Brooklyn College; and in February a sanitation worker was arrested for harassing his ex-girlfriend.

Thanksgiving is a notorious holiday for drunk driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In mid-November, Governor Cuomo announced a ‘Thanksgiving holiday crackdown‘ on drunk and distracted drivers throughout New York State. In the 2015 crackdown, which lasted from Wednesday, November 23 to Sunday, November 27, State troopers arrested 218 drivers for DWIs, according to Cuomo.

Drivers convicted of DWI or DWAI can face revoked licenses, fines, and jail time depending on blood alcohol levels and the number of offenses, according to the New York State DMV.