Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
MTA

MTA Bus Driver Arrested For Killing a Pedestrian

File photo: Wayne Carrington

An MTA bus driver was arrested after killing an 81-year-old pedestrian on Wednesday night as she crossed Bay Parkway — with the light and in a crosswalk.

Police said B6 driver Audley Smith, 62, turned right from Stillwell Avenue at around 8:07 p.m. and slammed into Yu Qing Chen. When police arrived, they found Chen "unresponsive with head trauma." She died later at Maimonides Hospital.

Smith was charged with  failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care — both misdemeanors punishable by up to 30 days in jail, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

An MTA source said the bus was out of service at the time.

“This is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to Ms. Chen’s family,” New York City Transit President Andy Byford said in a statement.

The numbers of such deaths under the wheels of MTA buses has dropped dramatically since the City Council criminalized failure to yield in 2014 via Council Intro 238, which was opposed bitterly by the transit workers' union. Before the law passed, police were not even investigating crashes that hurt New Yorkers unless officers personally witnessed the collision or the victim was deemed likely to die, Streetsblog reported.

But it is not always meted out uniformly. The MTA bus driver who killed 7-year-old Shevon Bethea on Webster Avenue in the Bronx earlier this year was not charged.

Earlier this year, the Post reported that MTA buses were involved in more than 21,000 crashes or "other mishaps" since 2015 — an average of 23 per day. Those "mishaps" led to the deaths of 14 people, the newspaper reporter, though not all were pedestrians.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Beach Reading: Zohran Mamdani’s Answers to Streetsblog’s Mayoral Candidate Survey

Spend the holiday weekend with Zohran Mamdani's answers to Streetsblog's mayoral candidate questionnaire.

July 4, 2025

Friday Video: Why NYC Needs ‘Low-Traffic Neighborhoods’

London's Church Street, like so many of our business corridors, was choking on cars — until the advent of the low-traffic neighborhood.

July 4, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: E-Bikes in Parks … Permanently Edition

The Parks Department will permanently allow e-bikes in city parks following a two-year pilot. Plus more news.

July 4, 2025

Anti-Miracle On 34th Street: Adams Administration Pauses Work On 34th Street Busway

The highly-anticipated 34th Street busway may not happen under Mayor Adams after all, sources said.

July 3, 2025

Manhattan DA Says Alleged Central Park Hit-and-Run Cyclist Didn’t Flee, Drops Charges

Prosecutors said the 30-year-old cyclist "remained on the scene for about 45 minutes after the crash and waited for paramedics to arrive to treat the injured person."

Sean Duffy’s ‘Great America Road Trip’ Wants You to Drive to Central Park

Sean Duffy's "Great American Road Trip" encourages Americans to drive to sites in the most transit-rich and car-choked parts of the country.

July 3, 2025
See all posts