Two drivers left the scene after a fatal Brooklyn crash.
The Big O
Two drivers struck 61-year-old Omar Stewart at Washington Avenue and Dean Street in Brooklyn at 2:14 a.m. on July 10, 2022, and police accounts reported by the Daily News said both left the scene; the city record lists one pedestrian death.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police accounts reported at the time described Stewart crossing Washington Avenue when a northbound driver hit him, followed by a southbound driver. The Daily News later reported that he was stepping into a cab when a driver hit him and he was thrown into the path of an opposing driver. The official record classifies the southbound vehicle as a sedan, while the Daily News later described an opposing black four-door SUV; police released footage and sought both drivers.
Accounts differ on what Stewart was doing before the crash
The New York Post reported police saying Stewart was crossing Washington Avenue when a northbound driver hit him; a southbound driver then struck him while he was lying in the street. CBS and Fox 5 also reported an account involving a crossing pedestrian and two successive impacts.
The Daily News reported that Stewart was trying to enter a cab when a northbound driver hit him. Its later report, citing police, said he was thrown into the path of an opposing driver. The paper said it was unclear whether that second driver knew someone had been struck.
The Daily News reported that medics took Stewart to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he died.
Stewart's work and family
Stewart was a father of three and worked as a tour bus driver, the Daily News reported. His fiancée, Kecia Edey, said they had spoken on FaceTime moments before the crash. She said he was heading home from a block party and waiting for a cab outside a car service office.
Delores Davis, the sister of Stewart's best friend, remembered him as “The Big O.” Streetsblog reported that Davis said they grew up in Park Slope and that Stewart enjoyed his work and talking about the places he traveled.
Edey told the Daily News, “He was a good guy. He would help anybody. He wouldn’t have left nobody in the street.”
The vehicle descriptions do not match
The official record classifies the southbound vehicle as a sedan. The Daily News later described a black four-door SUV traveling opposite a white Toyota RAV4; an earlier New York Post report said the second vehicle was traveling south. The descriptions therefore differ on the second vehicle's type.
Police asked the public for help
On August 9, 2022, police released surveillance footage and asked for help identifying the drivers, the Daily News reported. Police said the white Toyota RAV4 had damage to its front bumper and hood.
Where
WASHINGTON AVENUE and DEAN STREET