Former MTA driver is charged after fatal Queens crash.
Former MTA driver Michelle Washington hit Amesha Keys while making a left turn at Baisley Boulevard and Bedell Street; the official record lists one pedestrian killed in a collision recorded at 10:36 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2024.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Michelle Washington, then an MTA bus driver, was driving a QM2 bus west on Baisley Boulevard and turning left onto southbound Bedell Street when she hit Amesha Keys, QNS reported, citing the NYPD investigation. The official record places the collision at 10:36 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2024, and lists one pedestrian killed. Police said Washington drove away. QNS reported that EMS took Keys to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead the next day; ABC7 described her as killed on Aug. 6. Washington was later charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care, and the MTA terminated her.
A left turn preceded the fatal collision.
QNS, citing the NYPD investigation, reported that Washington, 54, drove a QM2 MTA bus west on Baisley Boulevard and was turning left onto southbound Bedell Street when she hit Keys as Keys crossed. Police said Washington drove away and did not remain at the scene.
QNS reported that responding officers found Keys unconscious and unresponsive in the roadway. EMS took her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead the next day. ABC7 described Keys as killed on Aug. 6.
Her family described a sudden loss.
Keys was 31 and left behind an 8-year-old daughter. Her mother, Roberta Keys, told ABC7 that Amesha was returning home from her job as a manager at a Sephora in Manhattan and had just gotten off a bus at the intersection.
"My heart is broken," Roberta Keys told ABC7. Amesha's brother, Shamiel Keys, said, "I still can't believe it."
The intersection has drawn city review.
The crash happened at Baisley Boulevard and Bedell Street in Queens, two blocks from Keys' home, QNS reported. The city's Department of Transportation told ABC7 it was reviewing the intersection's design after the fatality. The agency said six pedestrians had suffered minor injuries there in the previous five years, and this was the first incident there involving a serious injury and a fatality.
Police charged Washington; the MTA fired her.
QNS reported that Washington was arrested and charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care. She was not charged with leaving the scene. The MTA suspended her the day after the crash and later terminated her.
ABC7 reported that Keys' family filed a notice of claim against the city and the MTA. The family's attorney, Nicholas Liakas, said they were investigating whether the intersection's design contributed to the crash.