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Senior killed in Paerdegats

Senior killed in Paerdegats
Photo by Steve Solomonson

A motorist ran down a 65-year-old woman in a desolate Canarsie speed strip on Sept. 27 — the second pedestrian fatality to take place in the area in a week.

Cops from the 69th Precinct said a 57-year-old man behind the wheel of a 2002 Ford was turning from Paerdegat Fourth Street onto Paerdegat Avenue North at 7:54 pm when he rammed Denise Pierrelus as she crossed the street.

Horrified witnesses said Pierrelus, a longtime neighborhood resident, was walking to her home, which was just two blocks away, when she was struck. Paramedics rushed her to Brookdale Hospital where she died of her injuries.

The van driver remained at the scene and was not charged with any crime.

Residents said Paerdegat Avenue North — one side of which is filled with one and two family homes, the other marshland that leads to the Paerdegat Basin, is poorly lit at night. Since there are no lights and very few stop signs, drivers often speed down the strip as they make their way to Seaview Avenue.

“It can be very dangerous,” said one woman, who wished not to give her name. “Sometimes you feel like you are putting your life in your hands.”

This is the second pedestrian fatality to take place in the area: on Sept. 23, a hit and run driver mowed down a 56-year-old woman crossing the corner of Flatlands and Utica avenues — just 11 blocks away. The woman, Gillian Hall, also died of her injuries at Brookdale Hospital.

Cops were continuing to look for the driver, but that night’s rainy weather conditions is making it difficult to find witnesses, a police source said.

Anyone with information regarding this hit and run is encouraged to call NYPD CrimeStoppers at (800) 577-8477. All calls will be kept confidential.