Car Thief Kills Queens Pedestrian in a Hit and Run

A car thief speeding away in a just-swiped muscle car slammed into a Queens pedestrian on deadly Linden Boulevard — then got picked up by an accomplice, who drove the pair away from the scene of the crimes.

Police said that the driver of a Ford Mustang GT was heading westbound on Linden Boulevard near Bedell Street in Jamaica just before midnight on Saturday night when he ran over Earl Hall, 48, who lived mere yards away. The driver got out of the car and later escaped capture when an accomplice picked him up in a blue Subaru, police said, declining to give further details on the car they are now seeking.

Investigators said the Mustang had been reported stolen just an hour before the crash.

The intersection of Bedell and Linden is a free-form crossing with no signal or stop sign. Linden itself is a known local speedway. In 2019, there were 72 reported crashes in just the seven blocks between Guy Brewer and Sutphin boulevards, injuring seven pedestrians and 18 motorists. Jamaica itself is one of the most dangerous places in the city; in 2019, the neighborhood was a killing field home to 4,614 reported crashes (that's nearly 13 per day!), injuring 50 cyclists, 241 pedestrians and 1,178 motorists — with three pedestrians being killed.

This is a developing story.