The 72-year-old victim of a Bay Ridge hit-and-run died of his injuries on Feb. 20 — five days after the driver mowed him down and fled the scene.
Kamel Mahmoud was crossing Bay Ridge Parkway at the intersection of Sixth Avenue on Feb. 15 when the vehicle — believed to be a light-colored Mercedes Benz sedan — smashed into the elderly man while heading westbound on Bay Ridge Parkway.
Paramedics arrived at the scene to find Mahmoud lying in the roadway with severe head trauma and rushed him to NYU Langone Hospital in Sunset Park, where doctors later pronounced him dead.
Mahmoud was inside the crosswalk and had the right-of-way, while the driver was turning left onto Bay Ridge Parkway at a green light from Sixth Avenue when the hit-and-run occurred.
This particular intersection has seen five crashes in the past 10 years leading to four pedestrians injured and the injuries of three motorists, according to NYC Crash Mapper.
There has been a recent surge of hit-and-runs throughout the borough to start out 2021 — with two fatal crashes occurring on Feb. 24 killing a 6-year-old boy and a 31-year-old man.
The investigation for the Feb. 15 hit-and-remains ongoing and no arrests have been made.
The area councilmember said he plans to address the ongoing hit-and-run situation with city transportation officials and entrusted that New York’s Finest will use whatever resources they have to catch the unknown motorist.
“I am devastated by the loss of yet another one of my constituents to traffic violence. Kamel Mahmoud deserved better than to die at the hands of a coward who was so indifferent to human life that he fled the scene. I have spoken with the NYPD and we will do everything we can to catch this driver,” said Councilmember Justin Brannan.
Bay Ridge’s community board head previously said that intersection — where no one has died in a traffic-related incident since the city began keeping track in 2009 — is not known as particularly hazardous, but said the crash seems like a textbook left-hand turn issue that should be further addressed.
“The only complaints we have had in the past was truck traffic,” said Community Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann. “That is very common when you hear these terrible left turn accidents, it’s just like a typical one. I’m so sorry to hear it.”
As for the recent spike in traffic incidents borough-wide, Brannan said, “One pedestrian death is too many, but several deaths points to an ongoing problem.”
“We will be speaking with the Department of Transportation to determine how best to remedy that intersection, but until then, I am once again imploring our residents to drive responsibly,” he added.” Lives are at stake.”
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
