Cops Hunting BMW Driver Who Killed Pedestrian In Astoria Hit-And-Run
A driver who fled the scene of a crash on foot remains at-large hours after striking and killing a pedestrian in Queens, cops said.
The pedestrian was struck and killed by the driver of a white BMW just after 4 a.m. on Friday morning — at least the third pedestrian killed on city streets in a two-day period.
Police said the BMW was headed east on Astoria Boulevard South before striking the pedestrian at Steinway Street. The alleged killer driver was last seen fleeing on foot south on Steinway. The pedestrian, who has not yet been identified to the press, died later at Elmhurst Hospital.
Friday morning’s hit-and-run came amid a sea of carnage that cost multiple pedestrian lives in the last two days.
On Thursday morning, 68-year-old Aurora Soto was run over and killed by the driver of a Jeep Cherokee on Broadway in Brooklyn. And just hours after the Astoria hit-and-run, crossing guard Krystyna Naprawa was killed by the driver of a dump truck at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard.
The unidentified pedestrian and Naprawa were the 72nd and 73rd pedestrians killed on city streets this year, according to data kept by the Department of Transportation.
Earlier this week, New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi told reporters that city is “on track for having the lowest pedestrian deaths in this city on record” — while blaming the fact that 26 cyclists have been killed in the city in 2023 on the types of bikes those cyclist use.
Additional reporting by David Meyer
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