Skip to content

Two Senior Pedestrians Are Killed — And No One is Charged

Two senior citizens were run down and killed by drivers in separate incidents, one in Queens and one in Harlem, police said on Friday. Neither driver was charged.
Two Senior Pedestrians Are Killed — And No One is Charged
Pedestrians were killed on W. 125th Street (left) and 57th Avenue (right).

Two senior citizens were run down and killed by drivers in separate incidents, one in Queens and one in Harlem, police said on Friday. Neither driver was charged.

In the first incident, Rosvelt Bynum, 84, was crossing W. 125th Street at around 11 p.m. on Feb. 10 when he was run over at Lenox Avenue by the 57-year-old driver of a Mack truck that was traveling eastbound on Harlem’s main thoroughfare.

The driver remained on the scene and was not charged. Bynum was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition. He died on Thursday.

The next day, Masae Takeda, 66, was killed by the driver of a 2019 Infinity SUV as she crossed 57th Avenue at in Elmhurst, Queens, at around 11:15 a.m. The driver, who was not identified, struck and killed her as he turned onto 57th Avenue from Van Horn Street. Police offered no other information about this case, but the New York Post reported that the driver was a cabbie. [Update: The Taxi and Limousine Commission told Streetsblog that the driver’s license to operate a cab was immediately suspended.]

Both Harlem and Elmhust are extremely dangerous places for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

Last year, along just 125th Street between First and Amsterdam avenues in Harlem, there were 500 crashes, injuring 16 cyclists, 46 pedestrians and 97 motorists.

And in Elmhurst, there were 1,840 crashes, injuring 58 cyclists, 146 pedestrians and 284 motorists.

Photo of 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.

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog New York City

Keep New York Moving: Antonio Reynoso’s Six-Point Plan for Transit That Matches Our Reality 

April 22, 2026

Exclusive: Mamdani Picks Construction Chief Eager to Speed Up Street Redesigns

April 22, 2026

‘Stop Super Speeders’: Preventing The Next Fatal Crash Is Up To You

April 22, 2026

Waymo Is Not In The ‘Vision Zero’ Toolbox: Data

April 22, 2026

Queens Civic Panel Endorses Mamdani’s Super-Sized Astoria Bike Lane

April 22, 2026
See all posts