An elderly woman was fatally struck by a Jeep driver in Queens on Wednesday night, becoming the city's first pedestrian fatality of the year.
Ok Kang, 74, was crossing Northern Boulevard — dubbed the "New Boulevard of Death" by complete streets advocates in 2018 — when she was run over near Parsons Avenue, just outside her home, police said. The 43-year-old driver remained at the scene and has not been charged.
Officials said that Kang's death marked the first pedestrian fatality of 2020.
After several years of declining traffic deaths, the number of people killed on New York City streets rose for the first time under Mayor Bill de Blasio last year. According to the Department Of Transportation, 219 people were killed in 2019, up from 203 the previous year. Pedestrian deaths increased from 105 to 122, and cyclists deaths nearly tripled, reaching their highest levels in two decades.
In the span of 48 hours last month, six pedestrians were killed—at least three of them seniors. While people over the age of 65 make up 13 percent of the city's population, they account for nearly 40 percent of traffic fatalities.
"These tragedies need to stop," Council Speaker Corey Johnson tweeted on Thursday. "We need safe streets. And we’re not backing down until we get them."
