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Missing Lawyer Dies Nearly 2 Months After Being Hit by Car in Brooklyn

By  Rachel Holliday Smith and Aidan Gardiner | February 10, 2015 10:37am | Updated on February 10, 2015 3:05pm

 Gerald Kane died after getting hit on Eastern Parkway and Rogers Avenue in December, police said.
Gerald Kane died after getting hit on Eastern Parkway and Rogers Avenue in December, police said.
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NYPD

BROOKLYN — A 73-year-old lawyer died last Wednesday, nearly two months after he was hit by a speeding car in Crown Heights, sending his family on a frantic search to find out what happened to him, officials said.

Gerald Kane, who local auxiliary police said also used the name Moshe Kanofsky, was crossing Rogers Avenue at Eastern Parkway when a 25-year-old man, driving north in an Audi A3 on Rogers Avenue, hit him about 6:45 a.m. on Dec. 17, police said.

Kane, who suffered severe head and body injuries, was taken to Kings County Hospital in critical condition, police said. But officials didn't know who he was so his family wasn't notified for more than a week, police said.

Kane's relatives, including his son Yosef Kanofsky, who acts as a liaison between local yeshivas in the neighborhood, finally reported him missing on Dec. 26, prompting the NYPD to issue a public notification later that same day.

One day later, a tip led the family to Kane's bedside at KCH, where they stayed until he died Wednesday, according to Councilman David Greenfield's office.

"The whole family was there," Greenfield said.

"The NYPD was wonderful. They really worked hard. They tracked down leads. They were really great. Thanks to them, [the family] were able to spend six weeks with their dad," Greenfield added.

Yosef Kanofsky could not immediately be reached for comment.

Greenfield said that Kane had once been a lawyer.

The driver, whose name was not immediately released, was ticketed for "imprudent speed," but not arrested, an NYPD spokesman said.

Kane's family is not seeking any harsher punishment against the driver, Greenfield said.

"That's not the focus. It's a tragedy. They're religious folks. They think everything happens for a reason," the councilman said.

"They have hope that the NYPD will investigate and come to the appropriate conclusion," he added.