Off-duty, motorcycle riding police offi cer killed by truck
An IWT Transport, Inc. truck collided with a motorcycle on East Tremont Avenue, killing 56-year old NYPD offi
cer Michael McGrath. Photo by Edwin Soto
crime scene tape as offi cers
investigated and surveyed the
area. The driver of the IWT
Transport Inc. truck, a hazardous
waste and disposal
service based in Oakland, NJ,
was not injured.
McGrath had 30 years of
experience with the NYPD
and, at the time of his death,
was the commanding offi cer
of the NYPD Cadet Corps, an
internship program which
���������������������������������������� ������������������������
������������������������������������������������������������������������
BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN
An off-duty police offi cer
was fatally injured this week.
On the morning of Monday,
September 16, NYPD offi cer,
Inspector Michael McGrath,
driving his motorcycle south
on East Tremont Avenue collided
with a truck carrying a
roll off container travelling
northbound.
McGrath, who was off-duty
at the time of the incident, was
struck at 7:50 a.m. by the truck
as it made a left from East
Tremont Avenue onto Waterbury
Avenue.
According to sources,
McGrath, a lifelong Bronx
resident, was coming from
his apartment on Fowler Avenue
in Morris Park, located
within the confi nes of the 49th
Precinct. He was planning to
meet his 21-year old daughter,
Samantha, for breakfast that
morning.
The 56-year old police offi -
cer, who was in cardiac arrest,
was rushed to Jacobi Medical
Center immediately following
the incident. He died a short
time later as a result of the injuries
he sustained.
The scene of the accident
was closed off with yellow
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, S 14 EPTEMBER 20-26, 2019 BTR
��������
��������������������
��������������
��������������������������������������������������������
229 City Island Ave
Bronx, NY 10464
encourages NYC college students
to join the police department
once they graduate from
school.
The program also provides
assistance with students’
school tuition as well
as an hourly income. He was
in charge of the Cadet Corps
since 2007. Of the nearly 2,000
trainees under his command,
1,541 went on to become NYPD
offi cers, with the remaining
cadets still in training.
He was also instrumental
in the fruition of the new Police
Academy in College Point,
Queens, which opened in January
2015. The Policy Academy
houses the Cadet Corps.
According to the police
report, the truck driver remained
at the scene following
the accident. As of press time,
it was not clear if charges
will be fi led against the truck
driver.
“He was my mentor - I
learned pretty much everything
about this job from him,”
said Kenneth Granowski, sergeant
offi cer of the NYPD’s
First Deputy Commissioner’s
offi ce, who shared an offi ce
with McGrath for fi ve years
with the NYPD’s Personnel
Bureau in the early 2000s.
Thesera J. Shortell, chief of
the NYPD’s Training Bureau
said, “Everybody loved him -
he had such a positive outlook
on life and he had strong compassion
for others, which was
a perfect fi t for his role within
the NYPD.”
Shortell added that it was
always McGrath’s goal to become
an NYPD police offi cer.
“It is with great sadness
that we mourn the passing of
inspector Michael McGrath.
He was our mentor and our
leader - he treated his staff
and Police Cadets like family,”
read the Twitter page of the
NYPD Cadets on Monday following
McGrath’s death.
Aside from his work with
the NYPD and the Cadet
Corps, McGrath was an avid
hunter and enjoyed carpentry.