Carnage

A Pedestrian Was Killed Today In Harlem

A 55-year-old man was run down and killed by the driver of a BMW on Harlem's Malcolm X Boulevard early Saturday morning, police said.

By Gersh Kuntzman

9:15 AM EDT on May 25, 2019

The fatal corner. Photo: Google

A 55-year-old man was run down and killed by the driver of a BMW on Harlem’s Malcolm X Boulevard early Saturday morning, police said.

The official NYPD report gave few details, saying only that a preliminary investigation revealed that pedestrian Leon Frazier was attempting to cross “Lenox Avenue” from east to west at 112th Street at around 4 a.m. when the 27-year-old driver of the 2013 luxury car slammed into him as he turned left onto the avenue from the side street. The driver remained on the scene and there were no arrests.

That stretch of Malcolm X Boulevard is not known as especially dangerous. Still, just last year, there were 25 crashes between Central Park North and 113th Street, causing injuries to two cyclists, four pedestrians and 13 motorists.

Saturday is a reminder that roadways are never entirely safe, a point driven home at a mayoral press conference on Friday by 16-year-old Avery Dermer, whose friend had been run over and killed in 2014.

Gersh Kuntzman

Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He's also the writer and producer of "Murder at the Food Coop," which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is archived here.

Carnage | Pedestrian safety