Tow Truck Driver Kills Ping Xie, 81, in Flushing

Kissena Boulevard at Holly Avenue in Queens, where a driver fatally struck 81-year-old Ping Xie. Image: Google Maps
Kissena Boulevard at Holly Avenue in Queens, where a driver fatally struck 81-year-old Ping Xie. Image: Google Maps

A senior who was hit by a truck driver in Flushing last week has died from her injuries.

The crash occurred on March 9 at around 3 p.m. Ping Xie, 81, was crossing Kissena Boulevard at Holly Avenue, in a crosswalk with the signal, when Frederick Alsterberg hit her with a tow truck while turning left from westbound Holly onto Kissena, according to Gothamist and the Times Ledger.

Xie was transported to New York Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition. NYPD announced her death yesterday.

Police charged Alsterberg, 81, with a misdemeanor under the Right of Way Law and failure to exercise due care. He was also cited for a window tint violation.

The crash happened in the 109th Precinct, which in 2015 responded to a series of pedestrian deaths with a crackdown on walking. Xie was the second senior fatally struck by a driver in the 109th Precinct in 2017.

“My office is closely monitoring the situation and I am yet again calling on the Department of Transportation to work closely with the NYPD 109th Precinct and immediately assess the area to ensure safe roads for our seniors in Flushing,” Assembly Member Nily Rozic told the Times Ledger.

Motorists have killed at least 19 people walking on NYC surface streets this year. Of 17 victims whose ages were reported, 12 were 65 or over, according to crash data tracked by Streetsblog. Last week Transportation Alternatives called on the city to do more to protect seniors from reckless drivers.

Motorists injured 11 people walking at Kissena and Holly from 2010 through 2016, according to city crash data.

Ping Xie was killed in the City Council district represented by Peter Koo.

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