Woman, 75, dead and man, 70, clinging to life in separate Brooklyn crashes
A 75-year-old woman was killed and a 70-year-old man was clinging to life in separate Brooklyn crashes Wednesday afternoon, police said.
The 75-year-old woman was crossing St. Johns Place at Utica Ave. in Crown Heights about 2:05 p.m. when she was struck by a truck, cops said.
The truck, driven by a 21-year-old man, was headed north on Utica Ave. when it struck the woman as she made her way in a crosswalk, police said.
The woman had hesitated as she began crossing the street, said a witness. But as soon as she stepped into the crosswalk, the light turned green, and the truck proceeded into the intersection.
The truck was “very big,” said the witness, who works at a nearby medical facility and declined to give her name. “So she [the pedestrian] was in a blind spot.”
Kenisha Roberts, who works at a nearby pharmacy, ran out to offer aid — but realized there was nothing she could do. “This is so sad,” Roberts said.
Medics pronounced the pedestrian dead on the scene. The truck driver was expected to be charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, cops said.
About a half hour earlier, about 1:35 p.m., the 70-year-old man was riding an e-bike east on Avenue J in Flatlands when a 69-year-old woman driving a Nissan northbound on Schenectady Ave. slammed into him, cops said.
The cyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, was taken to Brookdale University Hospital in critical condition.
The driver of the Nissan stayed on the scene.
Both crashes remained under investigation Wednesday evening.
