Delivery Driver Charged After Teen Killed in Queens Crosswalk
She had an answer
At 47th Avenue and 46th Street in Queens, city records show a 3:26 p.m. crash killed a 16-year-old pedestrian and injured another pedestrian; prosecutors later said delivery driver Boubacar Barry hit sisters Jael and Leslie Zhinin in the crosswalk.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
On the afternoon of June 26, 2024, a driver turning at 47th Avenue and 46th Street hit two pedestrians in the intersection; city crash data records a 16-year-old girl killed and another pedestrian injured. Prosecutors later identified the driver as Boubacar Barry and the girls as sisters Jael and Leslie Zhinin. The district attorney said surveillance video showed Barry traveling west on 47th Avenue, making a left turn onto 46th Street, looking toward the rear driver's side of the truck rather than ahead, and continuing southbound afterward. Same-day police accounts in news reports described a right turn, while the later indictment account described a left turn. Barry was indicted on charges including criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene, failure to yield and failure to exercise due care.
A turn into the crosswalk
City records place the crash at 3:26 p.m. on June 26, 2024, at 47 Avenue and 46 Street in Queens. The record lists one pedestrian killed and one pedestrian injured, and identifies the pedestrian who died as a 16-year-old girl at the intersection.
The district attorney's office later said surveillance video showed Boubacar Barry traveling west on 47th Avenue, making a left turn onto 46th Street and looking toward the rear driver's side of his truck as the sisters approached the crosswalk. Prosecutors said he continued southbound afterward.
Same-day police accounts published by Gothamist and NY1 described the turn as a right turn; later accounts based on the indictment described a left turn.
A school block at 47th Avenue and 46th Street
The crash happened at 47th Avenue and 46th Street. Same-day reports described the site as Woodside, outside I.S. 125; a later Gothamist story based on the district attorney's office described the area as Sunnyside.
NY1 reported it was the last day of classes at I.S. 125, with students picking up diplomas. The New York Post reported the 8-year-old girl was a student there.
The sisters and their family
Gothamist identified the teen killed as 16-year-old Jael Zhinin and the injured child as her 8-year-old sister, Leslie Zhinin. Prosecutors said Jael sustained severe head and torso trauma and died at the scene, and that Leslie was receiving ongoing care for serious injuries.
NY1 reported that community members gathered near the scene, and quoted a Department of Education spokesperson saying the city was offering support to the school community.
How the delivery truck was described
City records classify the involved vehicle as a Ford truck/bus and list its vehicle type as Carry All, with one occupant. News reports and prosecutors described it as a water or delivery truck; the New York Post identified it as a Ready Refresh delivery truck in its same-day report.
City records list the driver's pre-crash action as making a left turn and list view obstructed/limited as a contributing factor.
Indictment and charges
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Barry was indicted after the crash. Gothamist reported the 11-count indictment included criminally negligent homicide, two counts of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, assault in the third degree, failure-to-yield counts and due-care counts.
The New York Post reported police arrested Barry on July 23 at a building on Broome Street in Manhattan. Gothamist reported that he was ordered to return to court on Sept. 19.