Driver Fleeing Police Killed Juanita Vidal in Bushwick
An errand
At 5:02 p.m. on May 9, 2024, Robert Matthews, fleeing police in a Mazda, hit two women at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue; 71-year-old Juanita Vidal died, and a court later sent Matthews to prison.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
At Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, a driver in a Mazda hit two pedestrians at about 5:02 p.m. on May 9, 2024. The official record lists one pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured, and traffic-control disregard as a contributing factor. Prosecutors later identified the driver as Robert Matthews and said he fled police, ran red lights and stop signs, and hit Juanita Vidal, 71, and her 44-year-old daughter as they were beginning to cross in the crosswalk. Matthews pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting where death results, and was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.
Police pursuit ended at a Bushwick crosswalk
The official crash record places the crash at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue at 5:02 p.m. on May 9, 2024, with one pedestrian killed and another injured. The record lists traffic-control disregard as a contributing factor.
Prosecutors said police saw Robert Matthews run a stop sign, tried to stop him, and then followed as he drove at high speed, crossed the double yellow line, ran a red light and multiple stop signs, and failed to signal. At Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue, prosecutors said, Matthews ran a stop sign, swerved to avoid another driver, and hit Juanita Vidal and her 44-year-old daughter as they were beginning to cross in the crosswalk.
Juanita Vidal died; another woman was severely hurt
The official record identifies the person killed as a 71-year-old female pedestrian. Police and prosecutors identified her as Juanita Vidal, and prosecutors said her 44-year-old daughter suffered multiple fractures and punctured lungs.
Most reviewed accounts and prosecutors described the injured 44-year-old woman as Vidal's daughter. News 12, citing sources, described the family relationship differently in its early report.
Records and reports identify the Mazda and parked vehicles
The official record classifies the moving Mazda as a sedan; press accounts identified it as a 2024 Mazda CX-5. The official record also lists a parked van and a parked Honda involved after the initial impact.
Police said Matthews left the Mazda behind and fled on foot. Early reports said officers were still searching for the driver; police later arrested Matthews in July 2024.
Accounts differed on police lights
NY1 reported a neighbor did not recall hearing police sirens and asked whether lights or sirens were active. In a statement to NY1, the NYPD said officers had lost sight of the Mazda, saw it again, and that the driver took off before officers could turn on turret lights. Prosecutors later said police followed Matthews with their lights on.
Matthews pleaded guilty and was sentenced
Police arrested Robert Matthews on July 22, 2024, and listed charges that included second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle, and leaving an accident resulting in death.
Brooklyn prosecutors later said Matthews pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting where death results. In May 2026, a judge sentenced him to an indeterminate prison term of five to 10 years.
Where
ELDERT STREET and KNICKERBOCKER AVENUE