A 44-year-old woman walking with a cane was killed early this morning by the driver of a yellow taxi, who sped away after striking her, according to witnesses.
According to the NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad, police got a 911 call at about 3:39 a.m. about a pedestrian struck on First Avenue between 16th and 17th Streets. The CIS investigation thus far has revealed that she was struck by the driver of a yellow cab speeding north past Stuyvesant Town. The driver had fled by the time police arrived.
Police found the woman lying in the bus lane on the east side of First Avenue with trauma to her body. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The NY Post reports that the driver of the Toyota Camry sedan merged into the bus lane to pass another vehicle when it ran the woman over and dragged her for a block. According to the Daily News, police found her cane and a piece of the vehicle's front grille at the scene.
First Avenue reportedly shut down at 16th Street for about an hour early this morning during the investigation.
Police said that preliminary evidence indicates the woman was lying in the bus lane before the taxi driver struck her. It's not known at this time why she was lying down in the road. Her identity has not yet been released, pending the notification of her family.
No arrests have been made, and police are actively searching for the driver of the taxi.
