Irvin Gitlitz, 83, Was First of Two Pedestrian Fatalities Wednesday
The pedestrian killed by a truck driver at Flatbush and Atlantic on Wednesday has been identified as Irvin Gitlitz, 83, according to NYPD.
Police say Gitlitz stepped between parked cars into the path of the truck driver, who was not charged or summonsed. Photos of the scene indicate that the truck was not equipped with required crossover mirrors, which enable the driver to see what’s directly in front of the cab.
Gitlitz lived a short distance away, at 334 Bergen Street, a police spokesperson said. The crash occurred in the 78th Precinct, near the location where another pedestrian, Ronald Sinvil, was killed by the driver of a city sanitation vehicle last December.
Gitlitz was at least the eleventh senior to die in city traffic in 2013, according to crash data compiled by Streetsblog, and at least the third NYC pedestrian killed by a tractor-trailer driver in the last five weeks.
Another Wednesday crash claimed the life of a pedestrian in Elmhurst. Police say a man stepped between parked vehicles into the path of an MTA bus, on Broadway near 77th Street, at around 7:30 last night. The victim carried no identification, and as of this morning NYPD did not know who he was. The Q53 was carrying passengers at the time of the crash, according to reports. No summonses were issued.
Last night’s fatal crash occurred in the 110th Precinct, and in the City Council district represented by Daniel Dromm.
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