Yesterday morning, a retired nun was hit and killed by a flatbed truck at the busy 6th Avenue and 23rd Street intersection. The nun, 80 year old Catherine Lee, had been "crossing to the west side Sixth Avenue 10:35 a.m. when the front passenger side of a flatbed truck turning right on to Sixth Avenue from 23rd Street clipped her," according to Newsday's police sources. Then, as a food cart vendor who went to help her said the truck "went up over her," crushing her body. The driver was working for Ment Bros. Iron Works nearby and police say there was nothing criminal about the incident - it was just a terrible accident. However, people who live and work in the area feel it's a dangerous intersection; this is the second death in about two years there. This is where the Best Buy, Container Store, Chelsea Barnes & Noble and Olive Garden converge, with Whole Foods, plus Herald Square, to the north and Old Navy and Bed Bath and Beyond to the south. It gets a ton of traffic, both car and pedestrian. Gothamist is guilty of trying to make the last waning moments of our turn to walk, but this is a good reminder to keep looking both ways and to wait for the next available green light, especially at the intersections where cars seem to careen a little faster than usual. Of course, when a car comes close to hitting us, we start cursing a blue streak.
How do you deal with crossing the street?
