72-year-old woman killed in Bronx motorcycle crash remembered as ‘backbone’ of her family

A 72-year-old woman killed this week when a motorcyclist slammed into her in a Bronx crosswalk was remembered Thursday as the “backbone” of her family.

Shirley Smith was crossing Pelham Parkway North at Williamsbridge Road in Allerton on Wednesday when a 46-year-old man riding a purple 2006 Yamaha motorcycle crashed into her in the crosswalk around 4:30 p.m., police said.

Both Smith and the motorcyclist were thrown to the pavement and debris from the crash hit a 17-year-old girl walking on the sidewalk nearby.

All three were rushed to nearby Jacobi Medical Center, where Smith died. The teen girl and the driver were both listed in stable condition.

On Thursday, Smith’s nieces mourned the woman at a family member’s Bronx apartment.

“She was a caring, loving human being,” said niece Barbara Smith. “She was always willing to do anything for anybody who needed.”

The victim had many nieces and nephews, who she loved as if they were her own children.

“She never had kids of her own but her nieces and nephews were her children,” Barbara Smith said. “Her family was everything to her. It’s a terrible loss for our family.”

Shirley Smith was a retired banker and lived in Manhattan.

“She was the backbone of our family,” said another niece, Denise Smith. “Everyone depended on her. She was there for every one of us. We’re still trying to figure out what we’re going to do.”

The victim had lived in her East Harlem apartment since the building opened in 1998.

“She was living a very healthy, active life like we are and the sadness is that it could have been any of us,” said neighbor Karrolyn Belkis. “The sorrow that it brings because when we lose someone in the building and we’ve known them since we’ve been here, it’s like family.”

Belkis, who’s in her nineties, saw news coverage of Smith’s death before she knew the victim was her beloved neighbor.

“One of the things that’s an issue here is pedestrians getting hit and killed,” Belkis said. “And you say, ‘Oh my God, another one.’”

Belkis told the Daily News the tight-knit community in the building is already raising money for any expenses Smith’s family will be facing in the aftermath of her death.

“Everybody rallies to whomever is in need,” she said. “Certainly the building will be in mourning for that and even more for the way she died.”

The motorcyclist did not immediately face charges as police continued to investigate the crash. There were no signs he was driving while impaired, cops said Thursday.