Driver fled after fatal West Village hit-and-run
A driver fled after a fatal collision involving 22-year-old Destiny Murrell near Sixth Avenue and West Washington Place; later police accounts differed from early crosswalk reports about how it unfolded.
Reported by press, not yet linked to NYC police crash records. This may change when new official records become available or when matching details are reviewed.
Location under review.
What We Know
A driver fled after a collision near Sixth Avenue and West Washington Place in which 22-year-old Destiny Murrell died, according to police reports. Early reports said a driver struck her while she crossed in a crosswalk; later reports attributed to police described her holding onto the driver's-side door as the driver moved from a parking lane into traffic. The accounts differ on the sequence. Reports also differed on the time and day, and described the vehicle as a gray vehicle or an SUV. Reports published Aug. 25 said the driver had not been caught.
Police accounts describe different crash sequences.
Early accounts attributed to police differed over which street Murrell was crossing. The Daily News said she was crossing Sixth Avenue in a crosswalk near West Washington Place when a driver struck her; CBS said she was crossing West Washington Place at Sixth Avenue.
An Aug. 25 Daily News report attributed to police said Murrell latched onto the driver's-side door as the driver pulled from a far-left parking lane, then was dragged into the intersection and fell beneath the vehicle. News12 attributed a different account to investigators: the driver was attempting to merge from the parking lane as Murrell grabbed and held the door, and she fell as the driver moved into the intersection. These later accounts differ from the early crosswalk reports and do not establish one reconciled sequence.
Reports differed on timing and vehicle description.
The Daily News placed the crash shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday, and CBS said it happened around 5 a.m. Sunday. ABC7's Aug. 24 identification report instead placed it shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday.
ABC7 described the vehicle as a gray SUV. CBS said police were looking for a gray vehicle, possibly an SUV, while the initial Daily News report described a gray vehicle. A later Daily News report called it an unidentified vehicle.
Murrell was identified as a Brownsville resident.
ABC7 reported that police identified Murrell as 22-year-old Destiny Murrell of Brooklyn. The Daily News later reported that she lived in Brownsville and that a woman who identified herself as Murrell's mother asked for privacy as the family grieved.
A witness tried to help.
Witness Corey Schwartz told CBS that he checked Murrell's pulse before police and an ambulance arrived. “My first reaction was to make sure she had a heartbeat to see if she needed CPR,” he said.
Reports said Murrell died at Bellevue as police searched for the driver.
The Daily News and News12 reported that medics took Murrell to Bellevue Hospital, where she later died. News12 reported severe trauma to her head and torso.
Reports published Aug. 23 through Aug. 25 said police were looking for the driver and that no arrests had been made. Amny reported that the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad was investigating.
Where
Sixth Avenue and West Washington Place, Greenwich Village/West Village, Manhattan, New York City, Manhattan