NYPD Officer Driving Van Fatally Hits Ronald Smith on Eastern Parkway
A westbound NYPD officer driving a police van hit Ronald Smith, 53, on Eastern Parkway near Schenectady Avenue on April 7, 2022, and Smith died at Kings County Hospital.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Ronald Smith, 53, was standing at a painted median on Eastern Parkway near Schenectady Avenue on April 7, 2022, when an NYPD officer driving a police transport hit him just after 8 p.m. The official crash record lists one pedestrian death and cites driver inattention or distraction. Press reports said the officer was transporting four prisoners with another officer in the van. A witness told the Daily News the driver was trying to make the light and that Smith was dragged about 35 feet. The Attorney General's Office later found the driver, Officer Orkhan Mamedov, had reached 45.7 mph in a 25 mph zone but said prosecutors could not prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
A police transport at the median
The official crash record places the crash on Eastern Parkway at 8:07 p.m. on April 7, 2022, with one pedestrian killed. The record describes the driver as heading west and going straight ahead, and it classifies the NYPD vehicle as a station wagon or SUV; press reports described a police van.
ABC7 reported that an officer was transporting four prisoners with another officer in the van when Smith was hit. The officers were not injured, and Smith was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital.
Eastern Parkway near Schenectady Avenue
News reports placed the crash near Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue in Crown Heights. The official record lists Eastern Parkway, with coordinates in the same area.
Ronald Smith was remembered as loved
Police and press accounts identified the person killed as Ronald Anthony Smith, 53. After some reports described him as homeless, a woman identified by Streetsblog as his sister, J. Floyd, said, "He has family, and he is loved."
Investigators cited inattention, speed and disputed accounts
The official crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as the contributing factor. Witness Dequan Bass told the Daily News the driver tried to beat the light, and Patch reported that witnesses said the officers were speeding to make a light.
In 2023, the Daily News reported that the Attorney General's Office cleared the officer of criminal wrongdoing after reviewing video and interviewing witnesses. The office found that Officer Orkhan Mamedov reached 45.7 mph in a 25 mph zone, but concluded that criminal charges could not be pursued because prosecutors could not prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
State review, modified duty and a threatened lawsuit followed
A police source told the Daily News that the officer driving had been placed on modified duty, working a desk assignment without a shield or gun, while the Attorney General's Office, NYPD Force Investigation Division and Collision Investigation Squad investigated.
Patch later reported that lawyers for Smith's estate sought court intervention to obtain video, records, the damaged NYPD van and information about the prisoners being transported. Councilmember Crystal Hudson called the death a "senseless loss of life."