Driver fled after hitting Elvin Sanchez on Linden Boulevard
Prosecutors said Anselm Okeke hit Elvin Sanchez as Sanchez crossed Linden Boulevard in East New York, then fled; Sanchez died at Brookdale.
What We Know
A 68-year-old pedestrian, later identified in press reports as Elvin Sanchez, was killed shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day at Linden Boulevard and Ashford Street in East New York. The city crash record lists one pedestrian death and a sedan, with failure to yield and driver inattention or distraction recorded for the driver. Police told reporters Sanchez was in the crosswalk and crossing against the pedestrian signal. The Daily News, citing prosecutors and a criminal complaint, reported that police arrested 70-year-old Anselm Okeke later that day, and that Okeke admitted striking Sanchez and said he got scared and fled. Published accounts put the crash just before 1 a.m., with slight differences of a few minutes.
A New Year’s Day hit-and-run in East New York
Police told the Daily News the pedestrian was in the crosswalk and crossing against the pedestrian signal. EMTs took him to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where he died.
Elvin Sanchez was remembered by neighbors
The Daily News later identified the pedestrian as Elvin Sanchez, 68, of Brooklyn. Neighbors told the paper he had been grieving after the recent death of his wife and had been visiting nearby residents daily.
Neighbor Margie Marqez told the Daily News that Sanchez had said he was lonely. The paper reported that neighbors were waiting with dinner for him on the night he was killed.
Records and prosecutors pointed to a sedan
The city crash record lists a sedan involved in the crash. A later Daily News account, citing court papers, identified the car as a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis with Pennsylvania plates.
The official vehicle records describe an eastbound 2004 Mercury sedan and list front-end impact information. The official entries differ on the driver’s pre-crash movement, with one entry listing a left turn and later entries listing straight-ahead travel.
Investigators recorded driver and pedestrian factors
The city crash record lists failure to yield right-of-way as the crash-level contributing factor. The sedan records include failure to yield and driver inattention or distraction.
The fatal pedestrian record says Sanchez was at the intersection and crossing against the signal, and it records pedestrian error or confusion. Police also told reporters he was crossing against the pedestrian signal.
Linden Boulevard has a long crash record
The crash happened at Linden Boulevard and Ashford Street in Brooklyn, on the Linden Boulevard corridor in East New York.
CrashCountNYC’s location review counted 2,223 crashes, 1,585 injuries, 64 serious injuries and 8 deaths on Linden Boulevard in Brooklyn from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
Reports differed as the arrest information developed
News12 reported in the days after the crash that police had not announced an arrest. The Daily News later reported that police arrested 70-year-old Anselm Okeke later on Jan. 1.
According to the Daily News account of the criminal complaint, Okeke admitted striking Sanchez and told police he got scared and fled. The source text reviewed for this dossier did not list specific charges.