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| (photo not related to last night's collision) |
As the driver of a Bread Depo box truck traveling west on Church Avenue turned right to go onto the Prospect Expressway last night (Tuesday) at about 9:30, he struck a pedestrian crossing Ocean Parkway on foot.
The victim, Faustino Garcia, who had been walking west on the north side of Church Avenue, was taken to Methodist Hospital. He died there as a result of severe injuries to his head.
Nobody has been arrested, as of Wednesday morning. A video of the aftermath of the collision is on YouTube.
The collision appears to have happened in the same location and under the same or similar circumstances as the one that caused the death of Ngozi Agbim in 2013.
This intersection has been hazardous for many years. Just the year before Ms. Agbim's death, residents of City Council District 39 (represented by Councilmember Brad Lander) had voted to allocate participatory budgeting funds to improve safety conditions for everyone who uses that intersection.
The neighborhood activism that followed Ms. Agbim's death (rallies, a petition, statements by our elected representatives, communication and public meetings with the New York City Department of Transportation, communication and public meetings with the New York State Department of Transportation) led to changes at the chaotic intersection of Church Avenue, Ocean Parkway, and the Prospect Expressway.
We need to act again to protect our community from injury or death.