Dump-truck driver charged after 75-year-old pedestrian killed
A dump-truck driver making a left turn hit and killed 75-year-old Yelena Gervolskaya at Shore Parkway and Shell Road in Brooklyn, and police later charged Frankie Rodriguez in the hit-and-run.
What We Know
Yelena Gervolskaya, 75, was killed shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2023, at Shore Parkway and Shell Road in Brooklyn. The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and a westbound 2017 Mack dump truck whose driver was making a left turn. Police accounts cited by news outlets said the dump-truck driver left the scene after hitting Gervolskaya, and that a second driver in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee then ran over her and also left. Months later, police arrested Frankie Rodriguez, 39, and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and serious injury, according to the Daily News report republished by Yahoo.
A left turn at the intersection ended in a fatal hit-and-run
The crash happened at about 10:25 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2023, at Shore Parkway and Shell Road. The official record lists one pedestrian killed and no other injuries.
The city record identifies the involved vehicle as a 2017 Mack dump truck traveling west before the crash, with its driver making a left turn. ABC7 and Yahoo, citing police and witnesses, reported that the dump-truck driver left the scene after hitting Gervolskaya.
News reports described a second driver leaving the scene
ABC7 and Yahoo reported that after the first impact, a second driver in a Jeep Grand Cherokee ran over Gervolskaya while she was in the street and also left. The official crash record provided in this package lists only the dump truck.
Her family remembered her as an aspiring poet
A Daily News report republished by Yahoo identified the woman killed as Yelena Gervolskaya, a 75-year-old aspiring Russian poet. Her brother, Mikhail Gervolskiy, said, "I remember her every day, every day. When I remember her, I cry."
The crash was reported at Shore Parkway and Shell Road
The official record places the crash at Shore Parkway and Shell Road. ABC7 described the location as the intersection of Shell Road, Shore Parkway and West Sixth Street, while News12 reported that police said Gervolskaya was crossing West Sixth Street when the dump-truck driver turned left.
News12 reported that two people familiar with the area said drivers often run red lights nearby. The outlet also cited NYPD data showing 27 injuries at the Shell Road and Shore Parkway intersection since 2018, and quoted a DOT spokesperson saying the agency would review the street design after the fatal crash.
Police later charged the dump-truck driver
The Yahoo-republished Daily News report said Brooklyn police arrested Frankie Rodriguez, 39, and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and serious injury, and failing to show ID or a license. The report attributed the charges to police.