A 28-year-old nurse was killed in a hit-and-run in Brooklyn, New York, after finishing an overnight shift. Jiayi Zheng was walking along a busy road in her scrubs on Saturday, August 29, when a black Cadillac sedan ran a red light and struck her.
The incident occurred around 7.30am on 55th Street and Third Avenue, just a block from the hospital where she worked. Footage captured the moment Zheng was thrown into the air. The driver did not stop and sped away.
Witness describes the crash
Medics rushed Zheng to the same hospital, where she died from head and neck injuries. Witness Antonio Perez told News12 Brooklyn: "I heard the bang. Her bag was over here, and they left her there. The car just kept on, it never stopped for nothing at all."
Senator Andrew Gounardes, who represents the neighbourhood, said the crash occurred on a perilous roadway. A Department of Transportation redesign plan for the stretch was presented in 2023 but never took effect.
Rising toll on city streets
Zheng is the ninth person killed by a hit-and-run driver in New York City in the last two weeks. She is also the 11th person killed while walking or biking the two-mile stretch of Third Avenue that runs under the Brooklyn Queens Expressway since 2014, according to advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.
As of Sunday afternoon, the driver had not been apprehended.
