A truck driver killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run in Crown Heights early on Monday morning.
The crash occurred at about 5:20 a.m. near the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue, police said. The truck driver, heading eastbound, struck a woman — who has not yet been identified — in the crosswalk at the intersection of Schenectady Avenue and took off.
Passersby called 911, according to an NYPD spokesperson. Paramedics declared the woman dead on the scene.
Police blocked off the intersection for several hours on Friday morning to investigate. The woman’s body, blocked by NYPD barricades, was still on the street at about 8 a.m. Her shoes, which had fallen off, lay on the pavement nearby.
An investigation is underway, and no arrests have been made. The truck that struck the woman was an 18-wheeler, according to Gothamist, and police were working to secure surveillance footage to identify the license plate.
It was not immediately clear whether the driver or the pedestrian had the right-of-way at the intersection — which is controlled with a stop light — at the time of the crash.
Locals were horrified by the crash, and said Eastern Parkway – a busy thoroughfare that spans six lanes at some intersections — is infamously dangerous.
“I hope the person’s pain was brief, this is terrible,” said Crown Heights resident Rachel Clark. “I hope the NYPD catches the driver.”
Over the last five years, three people have been killed in 32 crashes at the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue, according to data compiled by NYC CrashMapper. Two of the people killed were pedestrians.
“People fly up and down Eastern Parkway,” said local Kim Baker. “People barely have a chance to get out the way. They need to slow the speed limit.”
Year-to-date, traffic fatalities are down slightly in Brooklyn, according to the latest NYPD statistics, but pedestrian fatalities are up 24%, and 31 pedestrians had been killed in Brooklyn as of Sept. 14. In the 71st Precinct, where Friday’s crash occurred, one pedestrian had been killed as of Sept. 14, but 72 had been involved in other crashes.
“This is at least the fourth fatal accident I can remember in my 25 years living here, said local Patrick Brown. “Driver turn yourself in.”
