Taxi Driver Hits Honda; Woman Dies on Queens Sidewalk
A 23-year-old taxi driver collided with a Honda driver at Lefferts Boulevard and 115th Avenue early Dec. 28, 2024, police told reporters; the official record lists one pedestrian killed and two injured, and the Post reported Vidya Dookran-Franco was pinned against a fence.
What We Know
Around 3:10 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2024, police told reporters, a 23-year-old taxi driver in a Toyota RAV4 cab collided with a 25-year-old Honda Accord driver near 115th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in South Ozone Park. After the impact, the taxi ended up on the sidewalk, where Vidya Dookran-Franco, 51, and two men, ages 44 and 49, were hit. Dookran-Franco was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where she died; the men were also hospitalized. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed, two pedestrians injured, and traffic-control disregard as a contributing factor, with driver inattention or distraction also listed for the taxi driver. Police said both drivers remained at the scene and no arrests had been made that day.
Early-morning collision reached the sidewalk
Police told reporters that the taxi driver, 23, was driving a Toyota RAV4 cab near 115th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard around 3:10 a.m. when he collided with a Honda Accord driver, 25. The official record lists a taxi and a sedan, both going straight ahead, with the taxi traveling east and the sedan traveling north.
After the impact, the taxi ended up on the sidewalk. Three pedestrians were hit there, including Vidya Dookran-Franco, who the Post reported was pinned against a fence.
Vidya Dookran-Franco died; two men were injured
Dookran-Franco, 51, was identified by police as a Merrick, Long Island, resident. She was taken to Jamaica Hospital and died there.
Two men, ages 44 and 49, were also taken to Jamaica Hospital. The Post reported minor injuries; the Daily News reported they were in stable condition.
Lefferts Boulevard has seen repeated serious harm
The crash happened at Lefferts Boulevard and 115th Avenue in Queens, in the South Ozone Park area described by police to reporters.
CrashCountNYC location data for Lefferts Boulevard in Queens shows 709 crashes, 532 injuries, 26 serious injuries, and 4 deaths since 2022, placing this fatal crash on a corridor with a recent record of severe traffic harm.
Drivers stayed as investigators reviewed the crash
The Daily News reported that both drivers remained at the scene. Both articles reported that no arrests had been made, and the Daily News said the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad was investigating.