Driver Fleeing Police Killed Pedestrian at Ralph and Macon
A driver fleeing a police stop in Bed-Stuy hit a 67-year-old woman crossing with the signal at Ralph Avenue and Macon Street, killing her; the Daily News reported she had been returning from Saratoga Park with her 8-year-old grandson, who was critically hurt.
What We Know
A driver fleeing a police stop in Bedford-Stuyvesant hit people at Ralph Avenue and Macon Street on June 25, 2022. The official record says a 67-year-old woman was crossing with the signal when she was killed, and four other people were injured. Police told Gothamist the driver fled after officers approached a vehicle with mismatched plates they suspected was stolen, then veered into oncoming traffic, hit a cyclist, hit the woman and her 8-year-old grandson near the crosswalk, and continued into other people and vehicles. The Daily News reported the woman was returning from Saratoga Park with the child. The Daily News identified her as Lyn Christopher; Gothamist spelled her first name Lynn. The official crash record lists unsafe speed and improper passing or lane use as contributing factors.
Police said the driver fled a stop before the fatal impact
Police told Gothamist that officers approached a vehicle with mismatched plates after seeing two people smoking marijuana inside, and that the driver fled at an extremely high rate of speed.
Police said the driver veered into oncoming traffic, hit a cyclist head-on, then hit the 67-year-old woman and her 8-year-old grandson near the crosswalk at Ralph Avenue and Macon Street. The official record lists one pedestrian killed and four people injured: two pedestrians, one cyclist and one motorist.
A grandmother was killed, and a child was critically hurt
The official record describes the woman killed as a 67-year-old pedestrian who was crossing with the signal at an intersection.
The Daily News identified her as Lyn Christopher and reported she was returning home from Saratoga Park with her 8-year-old grandson, Jacob Butler. Gothamist identified her as Lynn Christopher and reported that the boy remained hospitalized in critical condition on Sunday. The Daily News reported that the child was on life support.
Ralph Avenue has a documented crash burden
The crash happened at Ralph Avenue and Macon Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
CrashCountNYC’s Ralph Avenue corridor context counts 1,168 crashes, 774 injuries, 52 serious injuries and 3 deaths since 2022.
Speed and lane use appear in the official record
The official crash record lists unsafe speed and improper passing or lane use as contributing factors. For the northbound 2021 Honda SUV, the vehicle-level record also lists traffic control disregarded.
Gothamist reported that police suspected the vehicle involved in the initial stop was stolen. The Daily News described the driver as a car thief in a likely stolen Honda HR-V.
Officials debated enforcement and street safety after the crash
Police said officers took one occupant into custody and that another person fled the scene; Gothamist reported that no charges had been filed as of Sunday afternoon.
At a press conference, Mayor Eric Adams blamed bail reform while acknowledging he did not have information about the suspects. Councilmember Chi Ossé called the crash a failure of policy and infrastructure, and Gothamist reported that residents described the site as a longtime hotspot for speeding and reckless driving.