Overview
- The collision, which occurred Saturday morning at Third Avenue and 55th Street, left 28-year-old NYU Langone nurse Jiayi Zheng dead after she was taken to the hospital where she worked.
- Police say a southbound 2014 Cadillac struck Zheng and fled the scene; no arrests have been made and authorities are asking anyone with information to call NYPD Crime Stoppers.
- Multiple local outlets reported that surveillance video and witnesses show the Cadillac speeding through a red light and hitting Zheng, and investigators are reviewing that footage.
- The crash renewed urgent demands from advocates and hospital colleagues to fast-track a DOT redesign of the two-mile Third Avenue corridor under the BQE that Transportation Alternatives says has seen multiple pedestrian and cyclist deaths since 2014.
- City Hall’s pledge to move forward with the redesign could bring crosswalk and lane changes to the stretch, and the case may increase pressure for faster street-safety measures citywide.