Two drivers fled after a fatal Brooklyn crash, police said.
Police said two drivers struck Yvonne Sandiford, 79, in Brooklyn; the official record logs one pedestrian killed at New York Avenue and Herkimer Street at 6:35 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2023.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police said two drivers struck Yvonne Sandiford, 79, and left; accounts differ about the exact locations and movements. Sandiford was a mother of 10 and a retired hospital cook.
Accounts describe two impacts, but differ on the route.
The crash record logs one pedestrian killed at New York Avenue and Herkimer Street at 6:35 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2023, and records the pedestrian crossing with the signal. Gothamist reported police said a driver in a gray Nissan Rogue turned left onto New York Avenue and struck Sandiford; moments later, a driver in a white Toyota Sienna hit her as she lay in the roadway. Gothamist reported that both drivers left.
Other accounts differ on locations and movements. The Daily News initially placed the first impact at Fulton Street and New York Avenue and said the Nissan driver then turned onto Marcy Avenue. CBS placed the first impact near Herkimer Street and the second farther down near Fulton Street.
Reports describe the Toyota differently.
The crash record lists a 2019 Nissan and a 2014 Toyota, both in its station wagon/sport utility vehicle category. Gothamist described a gray Nissan Rogue and a white Toyota Sienna; NY1 described the second vehicle as a white Toyota minivan.
The record lists the Nissan entry as making a left turn, with failure to yield and driver inattention or distraction recorded as contributing factors. It lists the Toyota entry as traveling north and going straight ahead; Gothamist reported police described the Toyota driver making a right turn.
Her family remembered her warmth and humor.
NY1 reported that Sandiford immigrated to New York from Barbados in 1991 and had 10 children, 23 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her son Patrick told CBS she had retired about a decade earlier after working as a cook at a local hospital, and lived with an older sister in Crown Heights.
Patrick told NY1 that he and his mother shared a birthday and an especially close bond. He remembered her affection and humor: "She was a sweetheart. A sweet, sweetheart."
Police were still searching for the drivers days later.
Gothamist reported on Nov. 3 that no arrests had been made and the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad was investigating. NY1 reported on Nov. 4 that police were still searching for both drivers.
A New York City Department of Transportation spokesperson told Gothamist the agency would review the location. Transportation Alternatives executive director Danny Harris called for safer intersections and accountability for hit-and-run drivers; Councilmember Chi Ossé urged sustained street-safety efforts.
Where
NEW YORK AVENUE and HERKIMER STREET