Driver charged after woman killed in Gates Avenue crosswalk
Police later charged William Cruz after he drove a box truck into Jenny Maribel Chacho Sánchez, whom the city crash record describes as a 30-year-old pedestrian crossing with the signal at Gates and St. Nicholas avenues.
What We Know
Official crash records say the driver of a 2024 Freightliner box truck was making a left turn at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn around half past 8 AM when he hit a 30-year-old woman crossing with the signal at the intersection. The records list failure to yield the right of way and driver inattention or distraction for the truck driver. News accounts identified the woman as Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez and said police later arrested and charged the driver; accounts differed on whether police described the driver as fleeing or continuing on his route before being stopped nearby.
Official Crash Data
Collision ID
4892665
Date
April 17, 2026
Time
8:26 a.m.
Location
Gates Ave & St. Nicholas Ave, Brooklyn
Borough
BROOKLYN
Fatalities
1
Pedestrians killed
1
Vehicles listed
Truck, Box Truck
Contributing factors listed
Failure to Yield Right-of-Way, Driver Inattention/Distraction
A driver turned left as Chacho Sánchez crossed Gates Avenue
The city crash record places the fatal crash at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn at 8:26 a.m. on April 17, 2026. It says the pedestrian was crossing with the signal at the intersection and was killed.
Police told Streetsblog that the driver of a white box truck was heading north on St. Nicholas Avenue and made a left turn onto Gates Avenue, where he hit the woman. ABC7 reported that a 49-year-old man was driving a 2024 Freightliner and that Chacho Sánchez was using the crosswalk.
Gates Avenue has a long crash record
The crash happened at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue, near the Brooklyn-Queens border. Streetsblog described St. Nicholas Avenue there as a narrow two-way street and reported 14 crashes with 12 injuries on the four blocks between Myrtle Avenue and Linden Street in 2025.
CrashCountNYC’s location context for Gates Avenue in Brooklyn counts 748 crashes, 422 injuries, 26 serious injuries and 2 deaths since 2022.
A mother was heading to work after school drop-off
The Daily News reported that Chacho Sánchez was from Cuenca, Ecuador, immigrated to New York City in 2012, worked at a clothing shipping warehouse in Greenpoint and had been staying with her father and daughter in Ridgewood. Published accounts differed on her age: ABC7 and BKReader reported 29, the Daily News reported 32 and later 30, and the city crash record lists 30.
Police charged the driver days later
Reports described the driver’s departure from the scene differently. Streetsblog and BKReader described the crash as a hit-and-run, while the Daily News later reported that Cruz continued on his route, police stopped him about a block away, and investigators believed he did not realize he had hit Chacho Sánchez.