NYPD Officer Joseph Capo killed in Southern crash

An off-duty NYPD officer from West Islip -- on his way home from work early Thursday -- was fatally injured when his car struck another vehicle and then overturned several times on the Southern State Parkway in South Farmingdale, State Police said.

Joseph Capo, 27, was pronounced dead at Nassau University Medical Center after the crash at 12:56 a.m. on the eastbound parkway, east of Exit 31, said State Police spokesman Frank Bandiero.

Capo lost control of his 2004 Volkswagen "for unknown reasons" and it hit a 2001 Cadillac before flipping several times, Bandiero said.

The driver of the Cadillac, Laurine Noble, 54, of Deer Park, had minor injuries, he said.

Bandiero said Capo was returning home from his shift at the Ninth Precinct in the East Village in Manhattan. He did not have any other details.

Capo joined the department in July 2011, according to an NYPD spokesman.

State Police closed the eastbound parkway for more than six hours to investigate the crash. The parkway reopened at 7:27 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation website, informny.com.

Bandiero said the crash remains under investigation.

Anyone who might have witnessed the accident is asked to call State Police at 631-756-3300.

With Anthony M. DeStefano