A senior was killed in Mott Haven Tuesday by a motorist who witnesses said sped past a stop sign before striking the victim, jumping a curb and slamming into an apartment building. The driver was not charged or summonsed by NYPD.
According to reports, Candida Acosta, 74, was crossing E. 141st Street at Beekman Avenue at around 11:05 a.m. when the driver of an Infiniti SUV struck her, then drove onto a sidewalk, knocked down a street sign, hit a building, and crashed into a stoop with sufficient force to trigger the vehicle's airbags.
After the SUV stopped, a child exited the vehicle, bleeding from her mouth. The Daily News and News 12 said the 47-year-old driver and her 8-year-old daughter were hospitalized.
From DNAinfo:
Multiple witnesses, including the man who called 911, Ali Nagi, told DNAinfo New York that the SUV was going about 35 MPH and rolled a stop sign before hitting Acosta.
Witnesses also told WABC the driver ran a stop sign. One woman said more people could have been hurt. "If that building wouldn't have stopped that car, all those people would have died plus people that are on that sidewalk," said Mercedes Rivera, a friend of the victim.
Acosta suffered severe head and body trauma and died at Lincoln Hospital, reports said.
No charges were filed against the driver, and no summonses were issued. News 12 reported on Tuesday that, according to unnamed sources, "it’s possible the driver may receive a summons." As of this morning the NYPD public information office had no updates. Streetsblog asked for the driver's name, but a spokesperson said the department would not release that information unless the driver had been arrested.
Acosta was at least the second person killed by a motorist in the past month, and the fourth in 2013, in the City Council district represented by Maria del Carmen Arroyo, according to data compiled by Streetsblog. We talked with Arroyo's spokesperson, who said the council member is out of town. The spokesperson said he would try to obtain the police report on the crash that killed Acosta, and pledged to follow up with Streetsblog next week.
A native of Puerto Rico, Acosta was a neighborhood favorite, known as "Candy" to adults and "mommy" and "grandma" to kids, according to DNAinfo. She is survived by her husband, who reports said was too distraught to speak to the media.
Acosta was at least the 28th pedestrian or cyclist age 65 or older killed by a New York City motorist in 2013.
This fatal crash occurred in the 40th Precinct, where as of September local officers had issued 495 speeding tickets this year, and 112 summonses for failure to yield to a pedestrian. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Deputy Inspector Christopher J. McCormack, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 40th Precinct council meetings happen at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month at Lincoln Hospital, 234 E. 149th Street. Call 718-402-3662 for information.
