Cops Seek Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed Williamsburg Man on Tuesday

This is the site of Tuesday morning's crash in Williamsburg. Photo: Google
This is the site of Tuesday morning's crash in Williamsburg. Photo: Google

Cops are searching for the hit-and-run Rolls Royce driver who fatally struck a Brooklyn pedestrian early this morning.

According to the NYPD, the driver of the black luxury sedan was traveling southbound on McGuinness Boulevard at around 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday when he or she slammed into the pedestrian at the intersection of Bayard Street — just feet from the entrance ramp to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Police said the 58-year-old pedestrian, whose identity has not been released, was in the crosswalk on the north side of Bayard — but cops claim the walker was moving “against the traffic signal.”

A spokesperson for the NYPD could not say why the police believe the pedestrian was at fault, given that the driver was long gone when cops arrived. The pedestrian was taken to Woodhull Hospital with severe body trauma, and later died.

The 94th Precinct, where today’s crash occurred, is a very dangerous place for pedestrians and cyclists. In 2019*, there were 1,967 reported crashes, injuring 66 cyclists, 51 pedestrians and 284 motorists. That’s more than five crashes per day on average.

There were 47 total reported crashes in the one-block area on either side of  intersection in question, injuring two pedestrians and three motorists.

McGuinness Boulevard is a three-lane roadway in each direction that leads to and from ramps of the BQE. Advocates have long complained of its speedway-like conditions.

* Streetsblog is using 2019 data, as this is the last full year that has reliable crash statistics due to the 2020 pandemic.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG