By Michael V. Cusenza
A Long Island woman was killed and two fellow pedestrians were injured early Saturday morning after a yellow NYC taxi jumped a South Ozone Park curb following a collision with another vehicle, police said.
Vidya Dookran-Franco, 51, of Merrick, suffered severe trauma to the body and was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia/DestinationFearFan
Image of a yellow NYC taxi similar to the one involved in Saturday’s accident.
According to cops, on Saturday, at approximately 3:10 a.m., police responded to a 911 call of an automobile accident at the intersection of Lefferts Boulevard and 115th Avenue. A preliminary investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined that a 2023 Toyota Rav4—the cab—operated by a 23-year-old man was traveling eastbound on 115th Avenue when it collided with a 2017 Honda Accord, operated by a 25-year-old man that was traveling northbound on Lefferts Boulevard. After the initial impact, the Toyota mounted the northeast curb and struck three pedestrians. EMS responded and rushed all three victims to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. The 49-year-old man and the 44-year-old man suffered minor injuries and are currently in stable condition.
Both vehicles and occupants remained on scene and were uninjured. There are no arrest and the investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad.
Dookran-Franco wasn’t the only pedestrian death this past week. Late Thursday, Antonina Freycinet, 45, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver as she crossed 111th Avenue at 158th Street in Jamaica.
