UPPER WEST SIDE — An education philanthropist was crossing an Upper West Side intersection against the light when she was fatally struck by an SUV on Tuesday night, police said.
Stephanie Dains, 69, who has frequently donated money to schools, was crossing east over West 75th Street at Broadway about 8:37 p.m. when an Infiniti SUV hit her as it made its way south in the left lane of Broadway, NYPD officials said.
"I saw the lady on the ground. She was in front of the car. She was face down. I didn't see her moving," said Tomas Estrella, 49.
"A lot of people were around her."
Police said Dains was in a crosswalk but did not have the light.
Dains, who lived in the neighborhood, was pronounced dead at St. Luke's hospital, police said.
The driver stayed on the scene and wasn't immediately charged, police said.
"The driver was a young guy. He looked very nervous," Estrella said.
An NYPD spokeswoman said she didn't know how old he is.
Those who knew Dains said she was devoted to her dachshund, Tulip, and very generous.
"She was a doll. She was a sweetheart," said the doorman at her building, Bill Werring, 59.
"She walked her little dog every morning. I saw her yesterday. She said, 'Good morning' and picked up the dog and I pet him. She loved that dog.
"She was very good around Christmastime, tipping wise. She never complained about anything."
A dining hall at St. Louis' Washington University was named after Dains and her husband after they donated a large sum of money to the school, their alma mater, in 2008, according to the school.
The university then named a scholarship after the Dains when they gave a $5 million gift in 2010, according to the school.
She and her husband, railroad businessman John F. Dains, also regularly donated to the Gateway schools in San Francisco, according to Gateway's website.
The crash came five days after a judge ruled the city's Vision Zero law, which was created to bring more penalties against reckless drivers, violated drivers' Constitutional right to due process.
