Det. Tanya Duhaney, a community affairs officer with the 113 Precinct, which is between South Jamaica and Rochdale, went above and beyond last week by driving a Russian couple to JFK airport after they were in a car accident near Richmond Hill.
On March 13, the tourists hailed an Uber from Manhattan and were near the Grand Central, and said they were allegedly rear-ended by a man that was driving with an 8-month-old in the backseat, according to Duhaney.
The baby and Uber driver were sent to Jamaica Hospital and all parties came from the incident without any serious life-threatening injuries, according to Duhaney, an NYPD veteran who will be celebrating her 19th year on the force on July 1. The Uber driver did have some back pain.
“I was coming back from headquarters and that was when I came across the accident,” said Duhaney who waited for emergency personnel to help clear the road for 40 minutes at the scene. “When I got to the scene, [the cars] were blocking both lanes of traffic.”
The tourists who tried to catch their 4 p.m. flight back to Russia called another Uber, but because of the traffic from the accident, they were at risk of missing their flight and were at the scene for 35 minutes before Duhaney arrived.
“I was like don’t worry,” said Duhaney. “Once the 102 Precinct officers arrive and I explain what happened, I will get you to the airport.”
Duhaney came across the scene after coming off the Van Wyck as she was heading back to the 113 Precinct, located at 167-02 Baisley Blvd.
“The guy with the baby in the car said ‘the [Uber driver] stopped short,'” said Duhaney.
When Duhaney arrived on the scene it was 2 p.m., the check-in time for the Russian tourists, but without having to use her police siren the detective was able to get the couple to the airport within 15 minutes.
“I gave them my business card so that they can prove that they were in an accident if they needed help with that,” said Duhaney. “I’m glad that the baby is safe, the Uber driver is safe and I got the couple where they needed to go.”
Duhaney is working on several projects to help her local community.
She is working to help raise funds for the family of Tighani Jones, 8, who lost his life in a house fire in Springfield Gardens earlier this month by spreading the word on the GoFundMe for the survivors.
Duhaney is also collecting prom dresses until April 30th at the 113 Precinct that will be distributed to young women on May 4th at the 5th annual Prom Angels event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the High School for Law Enforcement & Public Safety and P.A.L. located at 116-25 Guy R. Brewer Blvd. in South Jamaica. Any remaining dresses will be given away on May 5.
Parents that want their kids to attend the Youth Police Academy or the Summer Youth Employment Program can start to sign their kids now for the six-week programs that run from July to August by reaching Duhaney at 718-712-1627.
