Driver Indicted After Fatal Williamsburg Crosswalk Hit-and-Run
A driver making a left turn at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue failed to yield and killed a 59-year-old pedestrian in a marked crosswalk, and prosecutors later indicted Daniel K. Buckley, alleging he hit Leah Kohn and left the scene.
What We Know
On Nov. 28, 2022, a driver making a left turn at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue in Williamsburg failed to yield and hit a 59-year-old woman who was crossing in a marked crosswalk. Brooklyn prosecutors later identified the driver as Daniel K. Buckley and the pedestrian as Leah Kohn. They alleged Buckley had driven into oncoming traffic after leaving the Brooklyn Navy Yard, turned onto Taylor Street, hit Kohn in the crosswalk, and left without stopping. Kohn was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center and died Dec. 17 from complications of blunt force trauma to the head. Buckley was indicted on charges including second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene, reckless driving, and failure to yield.
A left turn ended in a marked crosswalk
The crash was recorded at 5:46 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2022, at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue in Brooklyn. The official record says a male driver in an SUV was making a left turn, failed to yield, and hit a 59-year-old woman who was crossing at the intersection in a marked crosswalk.
Brooklyn prosecutors later identified the driver as Daniel K. Buckley and the pedestrian as Leah Kohn. Prosecutors alleged Buckley left the Brooklyn Navy Yard, drove into oncoming traffic on Kent Avenue, turned onto Taylor Street to avoid a collision with two oncoming vehicles, hit Kohn, and left without stopping.
Leah Kohn died weeks later
Kohn, 59, was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center after the crash. Prosecutors said she died on Dec. 17, 2022, from complications of blunt force trauma to the head.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez described Kohn as a beloved grandmother and cherished member of the community.
Prosecutors alleged illegal maneuvers before the impact
The official record lists failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor, and the vehicle record also lists improper passing or lane usage. Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Buckley driving across Kent Avenue into oncoming traffic after leaving work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The press accounts agree that prosecutors described an illegal turn onto Taylor Street, but they do not use identical wording: one Brooklyn Paper story described the maneuver as an illegal U-turn in one passage, while the indictment account listed an illegal left turn.
The crash happened on a Kent Avenue corridor with repeated harm
The fatal crash was recorded at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
CrashCountNYC location context for Kent Avenue in Brooklyn shows 643 crashes, 363 injuries, 21 serious injuries, and 2 deaths since 2022.