Police Charge Driver in Bushwick Death of Juanita Vidal
At 5:02 p.m. on May 9, 2024, at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue, police said Robert Matthews hit Juanita Vidal and her daughter while fleeing an attempted NYPD stop; Vidal died.
What We Know
Juanita Vidal, 71, died after a driver hit her and her 44-year-old daughter at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick on May 9, 2024. Police told amNY that Robert Matthews, 26, was fleeing an attempted NYPD stop, went north on Eldert Street at speed, passed two stop signs, hit the pedestrians as they crossed, then hit parked cars and left on foot. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured, and traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor. Matthews was arrested in July and faced charges including second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, fleeing police in a motor vehicle, and leaving an accident resulting in death.
A police stop attempt preceded the fatal crossing crash
The official crash record places the collision at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn at 5:02 p.m. on May 9, 2024, with one pedestrian killed and one pedestrian injured.
Police told amNY that Robert Matthews was driving north on Eldert Street after officers tried to pull him over near Wilson Avenue. Authorities said Matthews was moving fast, passed two stop signs at Knickerbocker Avenue, hit Juanita Vidal and her daughter as they crossed Eldert Street, then hit parked cars and left on foot.
Juanita Vidal was crossing with her daughter
The official record identifies the person killed as a 71-year-old female pedestrian who was crossing in a marked crosswalk. amNY, citing police, identified her as Juanita Vidal and reported that her 44-year-old daughter was with her and was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Elmhurst in critical but stable condition.
Records differ on how to describe the Mazda
The official record classifies the moving Mazda as a sedan and lists the driver as unlicensed. amNY, citing police, described the Mazda as a 2024 Mazda CX-5. The official record also lists a parked van and a parked sedan; amNY reported that Matthews hit the back of an unoccupied Chevrolet van, pushing it into an unoccupied 2011 Honda Fit.
Police and the crash record point to disregarded controls
The official crash record lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor for the crash, and the Mazda entry lists traffic control disregarded and unsafe speed. amNY reported that authorities said Matthews passed two stop signs while trying to evade police.
The corner sits on a high-crash Brooklyn corridor
The crash happened at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick.
CrashCountNYC’s Crash Finder shows 768 crashes, 318 injuries, 12 serious injuries and 2 deaths on Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn from 2022 through June 1, 2026.