The pedestrian who was run down by a driver on Bay Parkway last week has died of her injuries — but at least in this case, the driver was charged, cops said.
According to police, Gilberta Hernandez, 49, was crossing Bay Parkway with the light in the south crosswalk at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, when the 74-year-old driver of a 2017 Toyota Rav-4 hit her as he make a left onto Bay Parkway from Benson Avenue — a notoriously congested crossing where drivers constantly run red lights.
The driver remained on the scene and was not charged. Hernandez was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where she died two days later. An NYPD spokesman declined to provide more information, specifically whether the driver was speeding or distracted by a phone or loud music in the car. The spokesman also said the driver was not charged even though the police report specifically placed the victim in the crosswalk.
"The investigation is ongoing," he said.
After initial publication of this story, the Twitter account of the NYPD Highway squad responded to Streetsblog and said it had, in fact, arrested the driver:
The driver who struck and killed Gilberta Hernandez was arrested by the Collision Investigation Squad on Sunday, November 3. He was charged with Fail to Yield Right of Way to a Pedestrian (AC 19-190) and Fail to Exercise Due Care (VTL 1146).
— NYPD Highway (@NYPDHighway) November 5, 2019
The intersection of Benson Avenue and Bay Parkway is dangerous, as drivers rush to get through a congested spot that serves as an entrance ramp to the Belt Parkway. Just last year, there were 28 crashes at the intersection, injuring two pedestrians, according to city stats.
Worse, the four-block stretch of Bay Parkway between 86th Street and the Belt Parkway entrance ramp was the scene of 144 crashes last year, injuring 21 people, including two cyclists and five pedestrians. Two pedestrians have died in the 582 crashes recorded along that strip since 2014.
It's been a difficult year all over the city. According to Department of Transportation statistics, 184 people have died on city streets through Sunday, which is up from 164 (or 12 percent) over the same period last year. The biggest jump in deaths have been among cyclists (27 dead so far this year, up from 10 all of last year) and among pedestrians (deaths are up 7 percent this year).
