Pedestrian Killed by Driver Making a Dangerous Turn: Cops

Another pedestrian has been killed by a driver, who hasn't been charged, even though police said she made a dangerous left turn out of a Bronx gas station.

According to the preliminary report from the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad, the driver, whose name has not been released, was pulling out of a City station on Jerome Avenue at the southern end of Shakespeare Avenue at around 5:25 on Saturday, and struck the 60-year-old pedestrian with her 2013 Lincoln as she sought to go north on Jerome.

The left turn out of the gas station and onto two-way Jerome is dangerous (though rubbed-out portions of the double-yellow line suggest that drivers often make the turn):

The pedestrian became lodged under the vehicle before the driver stopped. She remained on the scene, cops said, while the victim was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where he died. There were no initial charges. The NYPD declined further comment.

The intersection of Jerome and Shakespeare is not known as particularly dangerous, though there have been 26 reported crashes since January 2020, injuring one cyclist, two pedestrians and six motorists, according to city stats.

But over the same period, there have been an astonishing 184 reported crashes on just the half-mile of Jerome Avenue south of Shakespeare to the Major Deegan Expressway, injuring 11 cyclists, five pedestrians and 76 motorists, according to the same stats.

So far this year in just that one NYPD precinct, there have been 1,068 reported crashes — or more than three per day — injuring 44 cyclists, 128 pedestrians and 426 motorists.

Overall pedestrian deaths are down so far this year, but the overall death toll on New York City streets is typical of the average year.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated as fact that the left turn out of the gas station was illegal. It may indeed be illegal, but it also may not be depending on interpretation of state law. Streetsblog will update this story upon receiving definitive information.