SUV Driver Kills 77-Year-Old Woman In Crosswalk, No Charges Filed

An elderly Brooklyn woman was killed by an SUV driver while walking in a crosswalk in Sheepshead Bay this weekend.

Gail Ackerman, 77, was crossing Avenue U in Sheepshead Bay at around 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, when she was struck by the driver of a Nissan SUV, police said. The driver was attempting to make a left onto the busy commercial strip from East 29th Street, and the woman was walking in the crosswalk at the time of the crash, according to a preliminary investigation by the NYPD. The driver remained on the scene, but was not charged.

Emergency personnel discovered Ackerman laying in the street with a bloody nose and injuries to her pelvic area, police said. She was taken to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. On Monday, the city's medical examiner determined that the cause of death was due to her injuries as a result of the collision.

The news follows an especially deadly month for pedestrians, and elderly New Yorkers in particular. In the span of one week in December, three senior citizens were fatally struck by drivers: 73-year-old Yimei Gao in Queens; 74-year-old Waiching Chen in Brooklyn; and 90-year-old Gerard Gorsuch in Staten Island. In response, Mayor Bill de Blasio appeared to blame pedestrians for the spike in fatalities.

"It’s related to the time of year in large measure—days being darker, cold weather, people are trying to move along and are bundled up and can’t see as much," the mayor said. "My message to all New Yorkers is to please keep special care on our streets this time of year."

Earlier in December, a hit-and-run driver killed 65-year-old Iosif Morgenshteyn at the intersection of East 28th Street and Shore Parkway in Brooklyn—just a few blocks from where Ackerman was struck this weekend.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.