A 75-year-old male pedestrian remains in critical condition after he was run down by a turning vehicle as he was crossing a Kingsbridge Heights street. The alleged driver, who was seen sporting house slippers as he stepped out of his vehicle at the scene of the accident, was later arrested and faces multiple charges.

 

Police officials say the incident was reported at 2:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, when the victim was hit as he crossed West Kingsbridge Road at Bailey Avenue. An unidentified police official told Norwood News the following day, “A preliminary investigation determined that a 29-year-old male, operating a 2019 Hyundai Elantra, was traveling southbound on Bailey Avenue. As the vehicle was making a left turn onto West Kingsbridge Road, [when] it struck a 75-year-old pedestrian crossing at the aforementioned intersection.”

 

The police official added that the victim was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he remains in critical condition with head trauma. Police said the driver of the vehicle, identified by police as Elijah Hill, 29, of Madison Avenue, Manhattan, was later taken into custody and charged with aggravated, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failure to yield to a pedestrian, driving without a license, and two counts of failure to exercise due care.

 

Norwood News spoke to two women at the scene who said they had observed police surround the red Hyundai Elantra, which had a South Carolina license plate, and begin their investigation shortly after the crash occurred.

 

One of the women told Norwood News, “I had seen him earlier,” referring to the victim. “He was standing there waiting for the bus and he crossed the street just behind us, and he got hit. They said he still had the change for the bus in his hand when they put him in the ambulance.”

 

Asked about the types of injuries the man suffered, the second woman replied, “His head was split wide open.”

 

Norwood News later observed Hill, who remained in his vehicle, talking on a cell phone, before a patrolman from the NYPD’s highway patrol collision investigation squad asked him to step out onto the street. As he got out, Hill was seen wearing light blue house slippers.

 

Another male witness at the scene said he thought the victim had already died following the collision, recalling that the man had been bleeding from the head and convulsing.

 

Pointing out that the incident took place in front of P.S. 310, the male witness added, “Look what it did to this guy! Imagine a kid just trying to get across [the street].” The witness added that he believed right turns from Bailey Avenue should be eliminated. However, Hill had been making a left turn when he struck the senior.

 

The highway officer then led Hill to the Fresh Cleaners Laundromat across the street from where the incident occurred. There, a pair of witnesses told Norwood News he took a series of sobriety tests. One female customer recalled, “They came in and locked the door.” She said they then gave Hill a hand-eye coordination test.

Meanwhile, a man behind the counter at the Open Grill Deli on West Kingsbridge Road, located at the same intersection as where the collision occurred, said police had been looking at the store’s surveillance video. However, in reference to the collision, he explained, “There is no clear view.” The same man confirmed he had seen the victim in the area before.

 

As traffic was shut down in both directions for the duration of the investigation, a convoy of at least 9 buses were backed up, one behind the other, up the hill along West Kingsbridge Road as far as at least Kingsbridge Terrace.

 

When contacted at his home on Monday, July 11, Hill identified himself, responding, “That’s me.” Asked if he wished to provide any information about the circumstances of the incident, he replied, “No comment,” and declined to speak further.

 

Norwood News recently reported on an incident 2763 Morris Avenue in Bedford Park where a 22-year-old male driver hit three parked cars, causing his car to overturn. He refused medical attention at the scene. In May, we reported on a single vehicle collision on the Grand Concourse at Miriam Street, also in Bedford Park, involving a 25-year-old male driver who lost control of his car allegedly due to a bee flying inside the vehicle and hit a tree, causing the car to ignite. The driver and his infant son, a passenger in the vehicle, were driven to an area hospital for treatment by a passing driver.

 

During May 2022, 74 pedestrians were injured in road collisions in The Bronx. As of July 3, year-to-date, there have been 707 pedestrians injured in road collisions in the borough, up 7.8 percent from last year.

 

Meanwhile, The NY Daily News recently reported on July 11 that according to data obtained by the publication, hundreds of times every year, motorists are suspected of causing deadly and near-fatal crashes in the city — but fewer than half are criminally charged and a much smaller percentage face felony cases.

“Preliminary State Department of Motor Vehicles data for 2021 show that 74,627 vehicular crashes in the city involving pedestrians, bicyclists and other motorists were reported to the NYPD,” an extract from the article read. “In those crashes, 276 people were killed and an additional 38,479 were injured.”

 

The publication went on to report that the NYPD’s collision investigation squad probed the fatal crashes and found 110 of them — less than half — were criminal acts. “Detectives made 70 arrests. Of those, 10 drivers faced charges of vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, and vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, which are punishable by up to 15 years in prison,” the article read.

 

The News found that the remaining 60 people busted were hit with low-level felonies or misdemeanor crimes such as leaving the scene of an accident, failing to yield to a pedestrian, and reckless endangerment.

 

The publication deduced that vehicular homicide or vehicular manslaughter charges were brought in just 3.6 percent of the crashes investigated by the collision investigation squad last year.

 

As reported by Norwood News, New York City’s speed camera laws were recently expanded to operate 24/7, which City officials hope will help with the investigation into road accidents, and may deter some drivers from speeding.

 

In a tweet dated July 14, NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) said, effective Aug. 1, it will begin issuing tickets for speeding violations caught on speed cameras which, as above, are now in operation 24/7 every day of the year.

For night owls. For early birds. For the city that never sleeps. For all New Yorkers.

In 18 days, on 8/1, speed cameras will begin issuing violations 24/7/365. #Drive25 and always yield to pedestrians and cyclists. pic.twitter.com/yA62YC10QY

— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) July 14, 2022

Norwood News will continue to monitor this latest case and will provide further updates as they become available.

 

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until found guilty in a court of law.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.