[UPDATE] Teen Killed By Minivan Driver On Delancey At Base Of Williamsburg Bridge

(Christopher Robbins/Gothamist)

[UPDATE BELOW] A 13-year-old girl is dead after being run over at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan. The unidentified sixth grader was hit around 2:30 p.m., and the FDNY tells us she was in cardiac arrest when they arrived on scene at Clinton Street and Delancey. She was rushed to New York Downtown Hospital, where she was pronounced D.O.A. The NYPD press office did not have any information about the accident yet, but there were reports of heavy traffic backups on the bridge.

Update 4:10 p.m.: The girl, who attended Castle Middle School on Henry Street, was crossing the south side of Delancey Street, headed north on Clinton with her friends, when she was killed by the driver of a Toyota Sienna minivan, driven by a Chinese man who does not speak English.

One witness, a friend of the victim, says, "We were crossing the street and the light changed real quick. She started going, and then she stopped, but she tripped. The van hit her twice. The first time it hit her, then when it stopped and realized that it hit her, it hit her again." Another student, who said she was the girl's best friend, says, "The crossing guard didn't even do anything they kept on waving cars through, telling them to go. You see the blood on the ground? That's where it hit her."

The girl's friend was extremely distraught and crying, but fortunately her mother soon arrived. The driver, who spoke through a Chinese reporter acting as an interpreter, seemed angry. "There were five kids in the road," he told us through the interpreter. "Three guys in the front, two girls in the back. They ran the red light and..." He made smacking motions with his hand/fist to communicate what happened. The driver was taken away by NYPD, but the NYPD press office does not have any information about any charges.

(On scene reporting by Christopher Robbins, who tells us officers ordered him to stop talking to witnesses and leave, or face arrest, because he did not have NYPD-issued press credentials.)

The minivan's blown out tire. (Christopher Robbins/Gothamist)

The fatality is just the latest for the notoriously dangerous Delancey Street. Last year State Senator Daniel Squadron and City Council member Margaret Chin called on the DOT to address the safety nightmare for pedestrians and cyclists that Delancey has become. "Each tragedy is a clarion call that we need more pedestrian safety improvements now," Squadron said at the time. As it happens, the DOT recently completed a major overhaul of the pedestrian/cyclist entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge. (Bowery Boogie points out that it wasn't enough to prevent this tragic incident.)

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on January 13, 2012 4:26 PM

Comments [rss]

D.B

Sad, Rip. Until Pedestrians understand there responsibility when crossing the streets and use common-sense ,Tragedies like this will continue to occur . I see it everyday down on Livingston Street in Brooklyn . People crossing against the light , Out in the middle of the street, Some brazenly walk out infront of the traffic speeding by with not a care in the world . That is until something like this happens and then everyone blames the driver . Delancey Street needs a Pedestrian Bridge , It's just way to dangerous to cross with traffic speeding off , and on the Bridge . No Safety measures will change any the level of accidents except a Pedestrian Bridge .

Tesia Chang

no one else is shocked that the dude ran her over twice? once after he realized so?

cetriche

Drivers in NYC are sociopaths

publikhan

As a frequent driver on Delancey st and the Williamsburg bridge, I agree this intersection is dangerous as hell. If the light changes and there is no backed up traffic on the bridge, then u can come off the bridge on to Delancey at a higher speed. And god forbid if its night and somebody trips and falls, it really could be a death trap for a pedestrian. Build a pedestrian walkway and it would solve this problem

TabithaJ

Instead of wasting time here, everybody should write their city council members. Change does not happen by itself.

newyork26

As a LES driver and a parent, I implore the city to make Delancey safer for pedestrians. Heading south on Essex, to make that left on to Delancey toward the Williamsburg Bridge, I think to myself "I can not believe a pedestrian is not killed every day here." It is THAT dangerous. RIP to this young lady, and my prayers to the family.

Anna !

obviously the people who keep commenting green light go - red light stop, have never crossed this intersection. as someone mentioned already, if you're crossing this street and hoping to see another day, you better be sprinting or making some long strides.
i wish the mayor no one voted into his third term would actually focus on real problems....

Emmily_Litella

Dont know what happened here, but kids in groups are extremely aggressive/careless when crossing the street in front of you. They almost dare you to hit them.

zincink

Agree 100%

Monica Shane

This was a 13 year old child Have some respect.

webmasterknowsall

Darwin at its best. Maybe her parents should have taught her how to cross the streets properly and she would still be alive, It's called personal accountability...

theoddfather

and you're called a piece of shit

TabithaJ

If she was walking against the light as it just changed, and she was in the bike lane, you sycophants would be screaming "just another ped walking where they were not supposed to.". If you stand on the sidewalk when the light just changes, you live to see another day. These lights don't change without a lead warning.

cetriche

I agree for other lights, but not this one. I go through it every day trailing pedestrians, and I barely make it. It was probably green when she started.

JarekAF

Delancey is a death trap. It's a densely populated area where people live on both sides and frequently need to cross. My rx plan changed so now I need to cross delancey everytime i need to fill a rx.

The city doesn't give a shit abou the people who live here. Their big initiative was to put in massive concrete barriers on the pedestrian area so bikes and peds have narrower spaces to cross. This was ostensibly so that bikers would go slower on the bridge and so that the "terrorists" couldn't drive up the pedestrian bridge.

But doing something to limit the number of people maimed and killed on this incredibly dangerous stretch of road . . .nah . . . the city couldn't be bothered. It's a death trap. And it's not a highway. It's a regular road with a 35 mph speed limit like most roads in the city (it happens to have 4 lanes though).

I cross delancey every day to get to work and I wonder if I were to fall off my bike or hit a pot hole or something . . . might this be the day I die? The fucking crossing guards are there to keep traffic moving, not to guard and protect pedestrians. I hope they fucking sue the city.

May she RIP. So sad.

Jereremy

"I cross delancey every day to get to work and I wonder if I were to fall off my bike or hit a pot hole or something . . . might this be the day I die? The fucking crossing guards are there to keep traffic moving, not to guard and protect pedestrians. I hope they fucking sue the city. "

Agreed. I'm not a timid or inexperienced rider by any means, but every time I'm coming off where the Williamsburg Bridge spills onto Delancey, I have a mild anxiety attack.

cetriche

ditto, and it's even worse now that we all have to squeeze through a two foot portal. fucking brilliant

Felix

That street is all messed up. The light switches every 15 seconds to move the traffic off the bridge. It is meant to cross the first three lanes and WAIT and then you wait for the light again and cross. It is possible to cross 3 lanes in 15 seconds.