Driver charged months after fatal Queens left-turn crash
A driver making a left turn at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue hit 78-year-old Jose Jimenez as he crossed with the signal, and police later charged Benjamin Jean-Baptiste in the fatal Bellerose crash.
What We Know
According to the police report, a licensed male driver in a Dodge pickup was making a left turn on Jericho Turnpike near 91st Avenue in Queens when he hit a 78-year-old man who was crossing with the signal. Police recorded failure to yield right-of-way by the driver. The report states the pedestrian suffered a fatal head injury with severe bleeding and died at the scene on the arterial road.
A left turn at a busy Queens crossing
The crash happened at about 6:41 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2024, at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue in Queens. The official record says a pedestrian was killed, one motorist was injured, and the listed contributing factor was failure to yield right of way.
Police accounts reported by amNY and the Daily News said the driver was northbound on 91st Avenue in a 2010 Dodge Ram pickup and was making a left turn onto Jericho Turnpike when he hit Jose Jimenez, who was crossing the thoroughfare.
Jose Jimenez died after being taken to a hospital
Jimenez was 78 and lived in Bellerose, according to the police accounts cited by amNY and the Daily News. EMS took him to North Shore after the crash with a head injury.
The articles describe the timing of his death differently: amNY reported that he died on Dec. 19, five days after the crash, while the Daily News reported that he died a week after the crash.
Police later arrested the driver
amNY reported soon after the crash that the driver stayed at the scene and that no arrests had been made at that time. The Daily News later also reported that Jean-Baptiste remained at the scene.
Where the crash happened
The collision was recorded at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue in Queens, near the Bellerose location described in the police accounts.
CrashCountNYC location data for 91st Avenue in Queens shows 417 crashes, 198 injuries, 6 serious injuries and 2 deaths since 2022.