DOT dump truck driver charged after fatal turn in Queens
City DOT driver Jonathan Adorno was later charged after he fatally hit Nilufar Komilova, 31, while turning a dump truck at Metropolitan Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard at 9:07 a.m. on March 10.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
City Department of Transportation driver Jonathan Adorno was turning a dump truck from Metropolitan Avenue onto Lefferts Boulevard when he hit Nilufar Komilova on March 10. The crash record places the collision at 9:07 a.m. and records that Komilova was crossing with the signal. She died at the scene. A family friend said the 31-year-old mother of two had just dropped her daughter at school and was walking home. Police initially made no arrest, but Adorno was charged in April with failure to yield to a pedestrian causing injury and failure to exercise due care.
A right turn as Komilova crossed
Police said the city DOT driver was traveling east on Metropolitan Avenue and turning right onto Lefferts Boulevard when he hit Komilova. The crash record says the 31-year-old pedestrian was crossing at the intersection with the signal. Emergency workers pronounced her dead at the scene.
The crash record gives the time as 9:07 a.m., and several initial reports placed the collision around 9 a.m. An amNewYork report instead gave 4:54 p.m.; its account conflicts with the crash record and those morning reports.
Near her home and her daughter's school
The collision happened at Metropolitan Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in Kew Gardens, Queens. Family friend Akobir Azizov said Komilova had just dropped her daughter at Public School 99 and was walking home; she was struck about two blocks from her apartment.
A mother of two
Komilova left behind a 7-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son. Azizov told the Daily News that the children kept asking for their mother after the crash while the family struggled with how to tell them she had died.
Investigation and charges
The crash record identifies driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. Police said the driver remained at the scene, and they made no immediate arrest. On April 28, police arrested DOT worker Jonathan Adorno, 49, and charged him with misdemeanor failure to yield to a pedestrian causing injury and failure to exercise due care. The charges are allegations, not a conviction.
DOT said it was cooperating with law enforcement and conducting an internal review of the crash.