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Bronx Car Crash Leaves Elderly Woman Dead, Another in Critical Condition

By  Jeanmarie Evelly and Dan Rivoli | August 22, 2012 8:24am | Updated on August 22, 2012 5:36pm

The intersection of Bronxwood Avenue and Williamsbridge Road in The Bronx, where a 70-year-old woman died in a car accident Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012.
The intersection of Bronxwood Avenue and Williamsbridge Road in The Bronx, where a 70-year-old woman died in a car accident Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012.
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DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly

THE BRONX — A two-car accident in The Bronx on Tuesday night left a 70-year-old woman dead and a male driver in critical condition.

The woman, whose name was not released, was a passenger in a 2000 Mitsubishi with an 86-year-old man behind the wheel. She was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center, where all four victims were taken, officials said.

A 76-year-old female passenger in the vehicle was brought to hospital in stable condition.

The Mitsubishi was traveling south on Bronxwood Avenue around 9:30 p.m. and struck a northbound a 1999 Honda Odyssey as it attempted a lefthand turn onto Williamsbridge Road, NYPD said.

The 27-year-old driver of the Honda was brought to the hospital in stable condition.

Police do not suspect foul play at this time.

John Tujak, 69, who owns a building on Williamsbridge Road near where the accident happened, said he was watching TV last night as his wife got ready for bed when they both heard the crash.

"We heard a boom, didn't know what it was, and we came out and saw the two cars," Tujak said.

Police and paramedics were on the scene within minutes, he said.

"They were working on four people simultaneously," he said.

Neighbors near the scene say the corner is notorious for collisions.

"That stop sign is useless," Tujak said, of the sign on Williamsbridge Road. "They go right through it."

Tujak said that in the 34 years he's lived on the street, he's seen dozens of car accidents there, but that this was the first fatality he knew of.

Bruno Joe, 74, who lives across the street from the scene, said neighbors have reached out to the city about the dangers of the intersection in the past.

"A lot of accidents over here. We complain all the time that we need a traffic light, but nobody does anything," Bruno said.

"They know it's bad," Tujak agreed. "But somebody has to get killed for them to do anything."

A Department of Transportation spokesman said the agency had not received any community requests about Williamsbridge Road and Bronxwood Avenue, and added that there had been no fatalities since 2006 and no serious injuries of any kind between 2006 and 2010, the most recent year for which data is available.