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Woman Killed in Hit-and-Run by Tractor Trailer in Flatbush, Police Say

By Shaye Weaver | January 19, 2017 7:41am
 Police hold a sheet up around a woman's body after a fatal crash on Wednesday night.
Police hold a sheet up around a woman's body after a fatal crash on Wednesday night.
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DNAinfo/Shaye Weaver

PROSPECT PARK SOUTH — A woman was struck and killed on Caton Avenue by a tractor trailer that kept driving Wednesday night, an NYPD spokesman said.

The woman, who police believe is in her 40s, was crossing mid-block near St. Paul's Place about 8:30 p.m. when the truck hit her, police said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The driver was located later Wednesday night and police did not immediately arrest him because after speaking with him, they believe he accidentally hit the woman and didn't realize he had done so, an NYPD spokesman said Thursday morning.

Neighbors said the area is dangerous for pedestrians.

"Over here it's dangerous crossing the road," said Alexis Thomas, a 20-year-old resident of the area. "This changes your whole mindset, and it's not the first time someone has been hit and killed here."

Resident Nicholas Corea, 43, said he heard about the crash from others. "This is a very high traffic area and there is no enforcement of the red lights. There are a lot of tractor trailers that run lights here constantly. From Flatbush Avenue past Ocean Avenue, it's insane. The city needs to enforce the law here."

The intersection has had a total of 81 injuries since 2009, at least 18 of which were pedestrian injuries. This is the first fatality at the corner in that time period, according to the city's Vision Zero data.

The Department of Transportation recently put in a left-turn traffic calming measures on Caton Avenue nearest to the southwest corner.