A driver faces charges after a fatal pedestrian crash in Riverdale.
Indestructible
Brian Spira, driving a 2022 Mazda CX-9, struck 99-year-old Bernice Schwartz while turning left at West 235th Street and Oxford Avenue in the Bronx at 8:30 a.m. on July 27, 2022; the city record lists one pedestrian killed.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police said Spira turned left from West 235th Street onto Oxford Avenue and struck Schwartz as she crossed. The city record lists one pedestrian killed in the July 27, 2022, crash. Later reports said Spira was arrested and charged with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care.
A driver turned left as Schwartz crossed.
A police spokesperson told Norwood News that an eastbound driver turning left from West 235th Street onto northbound Oxford Avenue struck Schwartz as she crossed. Shore News Network later identified Spira as the driver.
The city record gives the crash time as 8:30 a.m. on July 27, 2022, and lists one pedestrian killed. It records the pedestrian as crossing in a marked crosswalk. Police said EMS took Schwartz to St. Barnabas Hospital with severe head trauma, where she was later pronounced dead.
The crossing was close to Schwartz's home.
The crash happened at West 235th Street and Oxford Avenue in Riverdale, about a block from Schwartz's home, according to the Daily News. The official record places the pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, and Streetsblog reported that stop signs controlled the intersection. Neighbor Margie Isaia told the Daily News that she and Schwartz had often discussed dangers at that crosswalk.
Family and neighbors remembered Schwartz's curiosity and strength.
Schwartz was a New York native, widow and grandmother who was nearing her 100th birthday. Her daughter-in-law, Judy Tydor Schwartz, said, "She was always willing to try new things."
Louis Bernstein, who knew Schwartz from synagogue, remembered her as "strong-willed, smart, thoughtful, willing to take things on."
Reports described the Mazda's body style differently.
Shore News Network identified Spira as driving a 2022 Mazda CX-9. The Daily News and Norwood News described the Mazda as an SUV, while Streetsblog called it a station wagon. The official record uses the combined category "Station Wagon/Sport Utility Vehicle."
An initial inquiry was followed by charges.
The Daily News reported that police initially investigated whether the driver had ignored a stop sign and that no charges had been filed at that point. The city record lists failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor.
Norwood News and Shore News Network later reported that Spira was arrested and charged with failure to yield and failure to exercise due care. The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.