Carnage

Driver Kills Senior on Jamaica Ave., One of the Most Dangerous Streets for Walking in Queens

A tow truck driver fatally struck Donna Hahl in a crosswalk. Motorists have killed at least 15 people walking on Jamaica Avenue since 2009.

By Brad Aaron

3:14 PM EDT on July 10, 2017

Driver Kills Senior on Jamaica Ave., One of the Most Dangerous Streets for Walking in Queens

Jamaica Avenue at 217th Street. Photo: Google Maps

The driver of a tow truck killed a 70-year-old woman on Jamaica Avenue, one of the most dangerous streets for walking in Queens.

Mandip Singh hit Donna Hahl in the crosswalk as he turned left onto Jamaica from 217th Street in Queens Village at around 2:30 last Friday afternoon, NYPD told Gothamist and the Daily News.

Hahl, who lived in Valley Stream in Nassau County, died at Jamaica Hospital.

According to court records, Singh, 29, was charged with a misdemeanor under the city’s Right of Way Law, as well as failure to exercise due care, which is a traffic infraction. His next court appearance is scheduled for August.

Drivers killed 11 people walking on Jamaica Avenue between 2009 and 2013, according to DOT’s Queens pedestrian safety action plan. Motorists killed or severely injured 58 pedestrians on Jamaica during that time period.

Drivers have killed no fewer than four people walking on Jamaica Avenue — three in Queens and one in Brooklyn — since 2014, according to crash data tracked by Streetsblog.

The intersection where Hahl was killed is not one of the six Jamaica Avenue crossings DOT has selected to receive Vision Zero safety fixes.

Donna Hahl was killed in the 105th Precinct and in the City Council district represented by Barry Grodenchik.

Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.