Bronx driver swerved onto sidewalk, killing a pedestrian.
Going for Pizza
At about 6:30 p.m. on September 9, 2022, a 45-year-old driver swerved onto the sidewalk at Bronxdale Avenue and Cruger Avenue in the Bronx, pinning 59-year-old pedestrian Paulina Nrecaj against a fence, according to police accounts; the city record counts one pedestrian death.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
The official city record places the collision at Bronxdale Avenue and Cruger Avenue in the Bronx at 6:30 p.m. on September 9, 2022, and records one pedestrian death. The Daily News reported police said the driver swerved to avoid a stopped van and went onto the sidewalk. Norwood News, citing the NYPD investigation, reported that the driver stopped at the intersection while trying to avoid a van, then swerved into the left-turn lane, crossed the intersection and mounted the curb. Both accounts say Nrecaj was pinned against a fence. The Daily News reported she died after being taken to Jacobi Medical Center. Norwood News said the driver stayed at the scene and reported no arrests and an ongoing investigation on September 12.
Reported vehicle makes
- Lexus — accepted press report
Make information is incomplete for the vehicles involved in this crash.
Reports describe different details of the driver's path
The Daily News reported that police said the driver swerved to avoid a stopped van and went onto the sidewalk. Norwood News, citing the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad, reported that the driver stopped at the intersection while trying to avoid a van, then swerved into the left-turn lane, crossed the intersection, mounted the curb and hit Nrecaj from behind. Both reports said she was pinned against a fence.
The Daily News reported that Nrecaj was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where she later died.
The crash happened beside the building where Nrecaj raised her family
The city record places the collision at Bronxdale Avenue and Cruger Avenue in the Bronx. Norwood News described the intersection as being in Little Yemen, south of Pelham Parkway; the Daily News placed it in Pelham Parkway. The Daily News reported that the crash happened just outside the building where Nrecaj had raised her family.
Nrecaj's family and community were part of her story
Paulina Nrecaj, 59, was walking to get pizza when the crash happened, the Daily News reported. Relatives said she had raised her family in the building beside the crash site. They also said she was of Albanian descent and had immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia as a child.
Her husband, Frane Nrecaj, was putting on his shoes for his nightly walk when a neighbor told him what had happened. He ran downstairs and found a neighbor holding his wife. He recalled, "I tried to touch her. It was very terrible."
Reports identify the vehicle as a Lexus
Norwood News identified the vehicle driven by the 45-year-old man as a 2016 Lexus LX570 SUV. The Daily News described it as a 2016 Lexus. The city record lists a 2016 Lexus and classifies the vehicle type as station wagon/sport utility vehicle.
The investigation remained open
Norwood News reported that the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad investigated the crash, that no arrests had been made as of September 12, and that the investigation was ongoing. The city crash record lists driver inattention/distraction as a contributing factor.