Driver in Lexus fatally pins Bronx pedestrian outside her home
At about 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2022, a man driving a 2016 Lexus fatally injured Paulina Nrecaj, 59, near Bronxdale and Cruger avenues, where police said he went onto the sidewalk and pinned her to a wrought iron fence outside her home.
What We Know
Paulina Nrecaj, 59, was walking to get pizza near her Pelham Parkway home on Sept. 9, 2022, when police said a man driving a 2016 Lexus swerved to avoid a stopped van, went onto the sidewalk at Bronxdale and Cruger avenues, and pinned her to a wrought iron fence. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured, and cites driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. The Daily News reported that the driver stayed at the scene and was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in stable condition; Nrecaj was taken to the same hospital, where she died.
A driver went onto the sidewalk at Bronxdale and Cruger
The official crash record places the collision at Bronxdale Avenue and Cruger Avenue in the Bronx at about 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2022, and records one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured.
Police told the Daily News that Paulina Nrecaj was walking to get pizza when a man driving a 2016 Lexus swerved to avoid a stopped van, went onto the sidewalk, and pinned her to a wrought iron fence.
Paulina Nrecaj died outside the building where relatives said she raised her family
The official record identifies the person killed as a 59-year-old female pedestrian. The Daily News identified her as Paulina Nrecaj and reported that relatives said she was a Bronx grandmother of Albanian descent who immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia as a child.
Her husband, Frane Nrecaj, told the Daily News that a neighbor came to the door and told him his wife had been hit. He said he ran downstairs and found a neighbor holding her before she was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where she died.
The Daily News reported that the 45-year-old driver stayed at the scene and was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in stable condition.
Cruger Avenue has seen repeated harm since 2022
The crash happened at Bronxdale Avenue and Cruger Avenue in the Bronx, near the Pelham Parkway area described in the Daily News account.
CrashCountNYC’s location review for Cruger Avenue in the Bronx shows 122 crashes, 57 injuries, 8 serious injuries and 1 death since 2022.
Investigators recorded driver inattention as a factor
The official crash record cites driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor and lists the driver’s SUV as slowing or stopping before the collision.
The Daily News reported a police account that the driver swerved to avoid a stopped van before going onto the sidewalk. Witness Maria Silva told the paper that the driver appeared to be going very fast and said he had lost control.