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

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.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

The Children of New York City Deserve Universal Daylighting

Daylighting is a moral imperative that protects the most vulnerable New Yorkers: children.

December 10, 2025

Likely Council Speaker Julie Menin Claims She’ll Work With Mamdani On Livable Streets

Julie Menin has declared victory in the City Council Speaker race, but will she be a friend or foe to the livable streets movement?

December 10, 2025

A Car Driver Ripped Off a Woman’s Leg in Broad Daylight

A Brooklyn driver drove onto a busy sidewalk in central Williamsburg and maimed a 33-year-old pedestrian. Why can't our officials prevent this kind of predictable incident?

December 10, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines: Dueling Rallies Edition

Astoria was ground zero in the fight for safe streets yesterday, with dueling rallies over the 31st Street bike lane. Plus other news.

December 10, 2025

Speaker Adams to Sink Daylighting Bill: Advocates

The last-minute move shatters years of grass roots advocacy.

December 9, 2025

Ex-FDNY Boss: Queens Judge ‘Wrongly’ Pit FDNY vs. DOT in Bike Lane Ruling

The former head of the FDNY slammed a Queens judge for pitting the Fire Department against the safe streets movement in a ruling that erased a bike lane.

December 9, 2025
See all posts