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

Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Pedestrian on Bedford Av. Hours Before Long-Stalled Safety Redesign Begins

The driver was traveling so quickly that the victim was tossed high in the air before landing back on the car hood and being tossed to the side of the road as the killer drove off.

A split second before the fatal crash.

Cops are searching for the hit-and-run driver of an SUV who fatally struck a Brooklyn pedestrian early on Thursday morning on a Bedford-Stuyvesant street that was literally hours from getting a long-delayed safety redesign.

The speeding driver was heading northbound on Bedford Avenue at around 3:10 a.m. when he struck Felix Mendez, 49, who had just exited a bodega with his purchases and was crossing in the crosswalk with the light.

The video, obtained by Streetsblog, shows that the driver was traveling so quickly that Mende was tossed high in the air before landing back on the car hood and being tossed to the side of the road as the killer drove off.

Cops said Mendez sufffered head and body trauma and was taken to Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, where he died.

"It's just shit, man," said a local shopowner who had seen the video. "The guy goes out to get some food and he's crossing a street and gets mowed down by some asshole driver.”

Roughly 24 hours after the crash, the Department of Transportation repainted that stretch of Bedford to narrow the roadway to one lane and add a protected bike lane, a configuration known as a road diet that has proven to improve safety because the narrower road encourages drivers to slow down.

Here's what Bedford Avenue looks like now, thanks to DOT's restriping. But the safety measure was too late to stop Thursday's death.Photo: Gersh Kuntzman

Activists had called for years for Bedford Avenue to get such a treatment — and, indeed, the city finally listened more than a year ago, only to delay its own timeline, a delay that is implicated in Thursday's killing.

“When it comes to safer streets, New Yorkers can’t afford to wait," said Elizabeth Adams, the interim co-executive director at Transportation Alternatives, which oversaw the "Better Bedford" campaign that finally bore fruit this week.

By ignoring its own timeline, the city left the street dangerous "well past the initially promised end date of late 2023," Adams added. "It’s clear that delaying projects has a real cost. ... All projects that are delayed or moving slowly need attention today so tragedies like these are prevented across the city."

The city is in the midst of a pedestrian death crisis, with 84 pedestrians fatally struck this year through Oct. 6, according to the NYPD — up from 70 in the same period last year.

And over the same period this year, 6,424 pedestrians have been injured — or roughly 23 pedestrians every day. That's up 3 percent from last year.

There have been 26 pedestrian deaths in Brooklyn, up from 16 over the same period last year, an increase of 62.5 percent.

DOT has said its redesign of Bedford will make the roadway safer. Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 7 of this year, there were 86 reported crashes in just the mile-long stretch of Bedford between Atlantic and Myrtle avenues, injuring seven cyclists, 10 pedestrians and 23 motorists, killing one pedestrian, according to city stats.

We will check the same period next year.

This story was updated to reflect the NYPD's release of the victim's name.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

No Accident: Red Hook Pool Closure Saga Stems from Adams Administration ‘Underinvestment’

An Olympic-size pool in Red Hook has sat empty since the summer’s start, leaving residents in the area out to dry and pissed off in blistering, record high heat.

July 25, 2025

The Perfect Beast: Even Google’s AI Thinks Streets Are for Cars

Artificial intelligence is completely naturally addicted to promoting cars.

July 25, 2025

Friday Video: Krakow is a Polish Pedestrian Paradise

Check out how car drivers simply stop for pedestrians — and not just pedestrians in a crosswalk, but also pedestrians about to enter a crosswalk or even just thinking about maybe entering a crosswalk.

July 25, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Putting the ‘Con’ in ConEd Edition

Con Edison has blocked the Vernon Boulevard bike lane for more than a week now. Plus other news.

July 25, 2025

Fixing Canal Street Means Rethinking the Manhattan Bridge Itself: Experts

Canal Street needs a fix, but the city must go straight to the source.

July 24, 2025

Lower East Side Panel Joins Growing Chorus Against Tisch’s E-Bike Criminalization

Another New York neighborhood is calling for an end to the “disproportionate consequences” that e-bike users face under the NYPD’s sweeping crackdown.

July 24, 2025
See all posts