SUV driver fatally hits Brooklyn pastor after she falls in Flatbush
A 58-year-old man driving a Toyota Highlander hit Aracely Courtenay at East 21st Street and Ditmas Avenue after police said she fell while crossing; the official record lists one pedestrian death.
What We Know
Aracely Courtenay, a 50-year-old Brooklyn pastor, was crossing East 21st Street near Ditmas Avenue just before 7 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2023, when police accounts cited by local news said she stepped into a depression in the road and fell. Police said a 58-year-old man driving a 2015 Toyota Highlander north on East 21st Street and turning right onto Ditmas Avenue then hit her. Courtenay suffered severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital. The official crash record identifies one pedestrian death at the intersection and lists the pedestrian action as crossing against the signal; the press accounts emphasized the fall in the roadway before impact. Police said the driver remained at the scene, and news reports said no arrest or charge had been announced.
What police said happened in the crossing
Police accounts cited by amNewYork and the New York Post said Aracely Courtenay was crossing East 21st Street near Ditmas Avenue just before 7 p.m. when she stepped into a depression in the roadway and fell. Police said a 58-year-old man driving a 2015 Toyota Highlander north on East 21st Street and turning right onto Ditmas Avenue then hit her.
The official crash record places the fatal pedestrian crash at East 21st Street and Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn and records one person killed, a 50-year-old woman who was a pedestrian at the intersection.
Aracely Courtenay was a pastor and mother
The New York Post identified Courtenay as a 50-year-old married mother of three and a pastor who served as first lady at Emmanuel Church of God, about a half-mile from the crash scene. The church posted a tribute after her death, and the Post reported that she led a women’s ministry there.
amNewYork reported that Courtenay lived in Midwood. Both news accounts reported that she suffered severe head trauma and was taken to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Ditmas Avenue has seen repeated harm
The crash happened at East 21st Street and Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC’s location context for Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn counts 603 crashes, 409 injuries, 16 serious injuries and 5 deaths since 2022.
Records and reports emphasize different details
The official crash record lists Courtenay’s pedestrian action as crossing against the signal. The reviewed news accounts, citing police, emphasized that she stepped into a depression in the roadway and fell before the driver hit her.
The official vehicle record describes the driver as a licensed New York male motorist, traveling north in a Toyota SUV with one occupant, starting in traffic before the crash.
The driver stayed at the scene
Police said the driver remained at the scene. amNewYork reported the next day that no arrests had been made, and the New York Post reported that the driver had not been charged.