MIDTOWN — An SUV fatally struck a woman as she crossed a Midtown street less than a week after another pedestrian was killed by an SUV not far from that intersection.
Midtown resident Po Chu Ng, 52, was walking inside the crosswalk at West 30th Street and Sixth Avenue around 5:12 p.m. on Saturday when a 27-year-old driver traveling east in a GMC SUV made a left turn onto Sixth Avenue and hit her, the NYPD said.
She was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the police said.
The driver — who had a green light when he turned — has not been arrested, but an investigation is ongoing, the NYPD said Monday.
Last week, advocates called on the city to install pedestrian-friendly traffic signals at busy intersections after another female pedestrian was killed when an SUV pinned her to the ground at West 38th Street and Eighth Avenue.
That driver was also making a left turn when he struck the woman.
Several community members on Monday renewed their calls for safety measures like split-phase signals, which provide separate go-signals for pedestrians and drivers.
“This is another tragedy that could have been avoided,” Community Board 4’s transportation committee co-chairwoman Christine Berthet said. “Why is the [city’s Department of Transportation] not installing split-phases?”
A city Department of Transportation spokeswoman on Monday said the agency would review the West 30th Street and Sixth Avenue intersection for “any possible safety enhancements.”
The board has also asked local precincts to provide police reports related to accidents involving pedestrians or cyclists after a woman was fatally struck by a dump truck near the Javits Center in February as a way to help members suggest street improvements.
It has not yet to receive any reports, committee member David Warren said.
“It’s not always that the car driver is guilty, but unfortunately, it’s the way the roads are designed that causes problems between pedestrians, cyclists and motor cars,” he said. “I think we need… a vigorous road redesign.”
He suggested the DOT study designs implemented in cities like London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam moving forward.
“Which could be a lot of expense and a lot of time and a lot of effort, but if we really want to get to Vision Zero, that’s what we’re going to have to do,” he added.
