An accident at the corner of McGuinness Boulevard and Bayard Street left one victim dead, and the perpetrator currently on the run and wanted by the NYPD.
On Tuesday, May 18, a 58-year-old man was crossing the fives lanes of traffic eastbound near Bayard Street, when a Rolls Royce fatally hit him and continued driving, as first reported by Brooklyn Paper. The man was later identified as Matthew Jensen, a teacher at Greenpoint’s PS 110, who was walking home from his own birthday celebration.
The victim was found in severe condition and rushed by EMTs to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the Rolls Royce has not yet been arrested.
In memory of Jensen and to support the community, several activist groups and elected officials are uniting to propose a safer McGuinness Boulevard traffic solution. On Thursday, May 27 at 3 p.m., a rally will take place at McGolrick Park demanding a safe redesign.
This is the fifth such hit-and-run in Brooklyn this year, despite Mayor De Blasio’s Vision Zero plan, which aims to eliminate fatal traffic accidents. This February, a bus driver killed a six-year-old boy in Williamsburg, and a day later, a 31-year-old man was killed by a hit-and-run in Red Hook. In April, a 52-year-old sanitation worker was killed in Williamsburg, by a Honda that was later found abandoned. And last week, a 49-year-old local business owner was fatally struck in Flatbush.
Anyone with information about the accident near the BQE is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips on the CrimeStoppers website or by messaging on Twitter @NYPDTips.
An elderly woman was killed a few weeks ago when an outside door at the Greenpoint CVS flung open. She was laid out at Rago’s. I have not seen one piece of news about it in any media local or city.
It’s bad framing to use the word accident as it implies no fault. It’s driver-centric. Most news organizations have switched wording to crash or collision.
What time was it? What color was the car? Was it vintage or new? Was it a convertible? any details at all???
It was at 12:45 am. Police said the Rolls Royce was black and the car had the green light (absolutely no excuse for killing someone). But if they know this much, they may have video and maybe could catch a license place.