Anastasios Tsakos’ brother remembered him on Tuesday as a devoted husband and father who joined the NYPD because he wanted to help people.
Teddy Tsakos spoke with Newsday hours after his brother was killed by an alleged intoxicated, speeding hit-and-run driver on the Long Island Expressway.
“My brother was an amazing guy,” Teddy Tsakos, 42, said in a phone interview as he prepared to board a plane to New York from North Carolina. “He had his whole life ahead of him. It was cut short.”
Anastasios Tsakos was struck and killed on the Long Island Expressway near Francis Lewis Boulevard in Queens early Tuesday morning, police said. A highway officer, he had been directing traffic off the expressway after a fatal single-car accident shortly after midnight.
The motorist, Jessica Beauvais, has been charged with about a dozen offenses, including vehicular manslaughter, reckless endangerment and driving while intoxicated, the NYPD said in a statement.
Tsakos said his brother and his wife Irene recently purchased a home on Caton Street in East Northport and that Anastasios, especially handy with wood making, was performing the improvements himself.
“He started fixing (the house) up. Always playing with the kids. Doing projects with the kids,” Tsakos said of Anastasios, the father of a 6-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son. “He built them tables. He built them night tables. He was excited about that part of his life.”
Rosemarie and Simone Giacalone have lived next door to the Tsakos family for nearly a year. On Tuesday, Rosemarie recalled her neighbor as generous and kind.
When her family contracted COVID-19 last year and were forced to quarantine, Anastasios brought over groceries while Irene made them soup, she said.
“The most incredible people you could ever meet,” Rosemarie said. “To have new neighbors move next door, we were just so lucky to have such an amazing family.”
Two weeks ago, Anastasios volunteered to helped Simone with the molding on the Giacalones’ stairs.
“He was just an amazing dad and husband,” Rosemarie said. “They only moved in last summer, but they treated us like they’ve known us for years.”
Anastasios also had a pilot’s license and once dreamed of taking a job in the airline industry, his brother said. Instead, he joined the NYPD, which was a perfect fit.
“My brother was very by the book,” he said. “That was the life for him. Either the military or the police. Because he was always like, ‘You need to follow the rules.’ He liked that. He was a very neat person. Very meticulous.”
Tsakos said his brother rode a motorcycle to work every day and often talked about the dangers of the job, but “that he liked what he was doing” and gained the most satisfaction from helping people.
“He would help people out left and right,” he said. “That’s what most cops do. You don’t hear about it on the news. You only hear the bad things.”
But nonetheless, Tsakos said he often worried for his brother’s safety.
“You worry all the time, but this was what he liked,” he said. “And you’ve got to be happy for him. This is what he wanted to do. This is what he chose. You worry about everything.”
Tsakos said his sister-in-law is having a very difficult time in the aftermath of the tragedy.
“I spoke to her earlier in the morning and she is a mess,” he said.
The family grew up in Astoria, Queens, and owned diners, including in Astoria, Port Washington and in Great Neck. Anastasios also had a younger sister.
“He just loved being with his kids,” Teddy said of his brother. “He wanted to get a house with a yard so the kids could go outside and play. … He wasn’t the guy who would go out to clubs. He wasn’t a bar guy. He didn’t drink. He didn’t smoke. He just liked to work and stay home with his family.”
The Giacalones, both school teachers, said they are heartbroken for Anastasios’ children.
“The little one will grow up never really knowing his father,” Simone Giacalone said as he wiped away tears. “It’s just heartbreaking. He was super dedicated. Every spare time he had he played with his kids. We feel helpless right now.”
With Joan Gralla
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
