Driver Jorge Gonzalez-Cadme charged after fatal Bay Ridge crash.
Long Enough
Police charged Jorge Gonzalez-Cadme after an investigation alleged he struck Norman Fruchter while reversing at 68th Street and Bliss Terrace; the official record logs the crash at 10:13 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2022.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Jorge Gonzalez-Cadme was reversing east on 68th Street when he allegedly struck Norman Fruchter as Fruchter crossed, according to an investigation described by Brooklyn Paper. The official crash record logs the collision at 10:13 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2022; the Brooklyn Eagle reported 10:12 p.m. Both outlets say Fruchter died at NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn on Jan. 4, 2023. Brooklyn Paper reported that police charged Gonzalez-Cadme with criminally negligent homicide and three other offenses. Fruchter, an education reformer and civil rights leader, was remembered at an Owl's Head Park vigil.
A police investigation described a driver reversing
Brooklyn Paper reported that Gonzalez-Cadme was reversing eastbound on 68th Street when he allegedly struck Fruchter as Fruchter crossed from the north side of the street to the south. The driver stayed at the scene and was not injured.
The official crash record logs the collision at 10:13 p.m. on Dec. 22, 2022. The Brooklyn Eagle reported that Fruchter was crossing at 10:12 p.m.
The crash was near Fruchter's Bay Ridge home
The official record locates the crash at 68th Street and Bliss Terrace in Bay Ridge. Brooklyn Paper places the intersection just south of Owl's Head Park, and the Brooklyn Eagle reported that Fruchter was crossing near his home.
Fruchter worked for fair public education
Brooklyn Paper identified Fruchter as an 85-year-old local civil rights leader. Family and friends remembered his work in education reform to help children of all ethnic backgrounds receive a fair public education.
A statement from NYU Steinhardt's Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools called Fruchter "a change-making school leader, community organizer, and academic," Brooklyn Paper reported.
Reports give different Hyundai descriptions
The official vehicle record describes a 2016 Hyundai sedan. Brooklyn Paper reported that Gonzalez-Cadme was reversing a 2021 Hyundai Elantra; the Brooklyn Eagle also identifies an Elantra but gives no model year.
Fruchter died at the hospital, and police filed charges
Brooklyn Paper reported that responders took Fruchter to NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead on Jan. 4, 2023. The Brooklyn Eagle also reported that he died at the hospital on that date.
Brooklyn Paper reported that police arrested Gonzalez-Cadme, 42, and charged him on July 24 with criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, imprudent speed, and unsafe backing.
Community members remembered Fruchter at an Owl's Head Park vigil and advocated for better traffic safety, Brooklyn Paper reported.