Driver fatally hits wheelchair user at Kensington crossing
Joyce
A 73-year-old driver in a Lexus SUV hit Joyce Greenberg, 68, as she crossed at McDonald and Webster avenues in her wheelchair on July 23, 2023; she died at Maimonides Medical Center.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
A 73-year-old woman driving a Lexus SUV south on McDonald Avenue hit Joyce Greenberg, 68, as Greenberg crossed Webster Avenue in her wheelchair on July 23, 2023. Paramedics took Greenberg to Maimonides Medical Center, where she died. The driver stayed at the scene. The crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor, while investigators had not established who had the right of way when Brooklyn Paper reported on the crash. Greenberg lived about two blocks away. After her death, a Jewish burial charity stepped in to arrange her burial.
The collision
At about 1:30 p.m. on July 23, 2023, a 73-year-old woman driving a 2016 Lexus SUV south on McDonald Avenue hit Joyce Greenberg as she crossed Webster Avenue in her wheelchair. Police said Greenberg was pinned beneath the SUV. Paramedics took her to Maimonides Medical Center, where she died. The driver remained at the scene.
A crossing beneath the elevated train
The collision happened at McDonald and Webster avenues in Kensington, beneath the elevated F train. Brooklyn Paper reported that the city had designated the area a Senior Pedestrian Priority Area the previous year, but Transportation Alternatives said physical changes had not yet been made to the street where Greenberg was hit.
Joyce Greenberg's life nearby
Greenberg, 68, lived at the Joseph Belsky House on Lawrence Avenue, about two blocks from the crossing. Fellow residents described her as independent and active and said she regularly traveled the neighborhood streets. Workers at her residence remembered her as a solitary person who rarely joined group activities.
What investigators had established
The crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. Brooklyn Paper reported that investigators had not established who had the right of way.
Investigation and burial
The NYPD Collision Investigation Squad investigated the crash. ABC7 reported on July 23 that no charges had been filed. Chesed Shel Emes, a Jewish burial charity, stepped in to arrange Greenberg's burial after finding that she had no next of kin.