BROOKLYN — What started off as a day of holiday shopping ended in tragedy for a Brooklyn Heights art curator who was fatally hit by a car Sunday in Fort Greene.
Victoria Nicodemus, 30, was in the neighborhood doing some shopping with her boyfriend, Jerry Toth, 37, when they were hit from behind by a driver whose car jumped onto the sidewalk, according to her brother Hank Miller.
The driver was headed east on Fulton Street about 5:26 p.m. when he swerved right to avoid another vehicle and barreled onto the curb near South Portland Place, hitting Nicodemus and two others, the NYPD said.
She was later pronounced dead at Brooklyn Hospital, officials said.
Miller said she and Toth, who was released from the hospital Sunday night, were looking at Christmas trees and gifts for family and friends.
They were a couple for less than a year but were very happy together, according to Miller.
“She was so happy. Things were going so well for her,” Miller said. “Her boyfriend said they were having the absolute greatest time.”
The second-youngest of five siblings, Nicodemus grew up in Dutchess County and atteneded Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, where she was a tennis champion and had a deep devotion to art.
“She loved art,” Miller said. “She was passionate about it.”
Nicodemus went on to study art history at the University of San Diego. After graduation, she turned her passion into a profession when she moved to Chicago and started working as a curator at Chicago Art Source, Miller explained.
She returned to New York four years ago, when she started her most recent job as a curator for Indiewalls, an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of art. The job allowed her to travel the world while discovering new artists and curating pieces for upscale hotels and well-known business chains.
Miller said his parents are devastated, but the family has been focusing on the good memories to help them through what he called an “immeasurable sense of loss.”
“It’s horrible to get the news,” Miller said. “You were with her for the holidays, then a week later she’s no longer with you.”
He said the family has not yet made funeral arrangements as they decide where to hold services.
The driver, 39-year-old Marlon Sewell, was arrested and charged with driving without a license or insurance, police said. Attorney information wasn’t immediately available for Sewell.
A 75-year-old pedestrian also struck in the crash was listed in stable condition Sunday, officials said.
