December 8, 2011 / Brooklyn news / Williamsburg / Mean Streets

City garbage truck kills woman

By Aaron Short

The Brooklyn Paper

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A city garbage truck struck and killed a woman crossing Broadway on Wednesday, the second pedestrian accident to occur in Williamsburg in less than a week.

Police said Long Island woman Katherine Yun, 25, was near Driggs Avenue at 7:15 pm when the Sanitation truck travelling eastbound on Broadway drove into her head-on.

Paramedics responded to the scene and transferred her to Woodhull Hospital, where she died.

A Sanitation spokeswoman said that the truck driver was on duty, and that the victim was hit by the front of the truck; the incident remains under investigation.

The Broadway crash occurred one week after police arrested a truck driver who ran over a 90-year-old pedestrian crossing Metropolitan Avenue. The driver was taken into custody, where he tested above the legal alcohol limit, police said.

But the sanitation driver in this week’s accident was sober, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Broadway remains one of Williamsburg’s most dangerous corridors for pedestrians, according to city transportation data.

There have been 14 crashes involving motor vehicles at Broadway and Driggs between 2007 and 2009, and nearly 400 crashes from on Broadway between Driggs Avenue and Marcy Avenue during the same period, though no fatalities were recorded.

Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D–Williamsburg), who is pushing the city to reduce traffic on the corridor, said she saddened to learn about the accident..

“My deepest sympathies are extended to the family,” said Reyna. “We must understand what happened and make sure that it never happens again.”

©2011 Community Newspaper Group