Driver Charged After Dyker Heights Pedestrian Death
Bruce Zurrow, 72, allegedly hit 52-year-old pedestrian Xiaohong Chen as he turned left from 13th Avenue onto Bay Ridge Avenue, and police later charged him, Brooklyn Paper reported.
What We Know
On the evening of Jan. 16, 2024, a driver making a left turn at 13th Avenue and Bay Ridge Avenue hit 52-year-old pedestrian Xiaohong Chen. City records place the crash at the intersection at 8:09 p.m. and list one pedestrian death; the driver’s contributing factor was recorded as driver inattention or distraction. Brooklyn Paper later identified the driver as Bruce Zurrow, 72, and reported that police arrested him on charges of failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to show care. Articles reported that Chen was taken to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition and died from her injuries.
A left turn at Bay Ridge Avenue
City crash records place the fatal crash at 13th Avenue and Bay Ridge Avenue in Brooklyn at 8:09 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2024. The record says the driver was traveling south and making a left turn, and that a 52-year-old woman walking at the intersection was killed.
Brooklyn Eagle and Brooklyn Paper reported that the driver was in a Dodge Ram pickup and hit Xiaohong Chen as she crossed Bay Ridge Avenue. Emergency responders took Chen to Maimonides Medical Center in critical condition, and she died from her injuries.
The crash happened on a corridor with repeated harm
The fatal crash happened at 13th Avenue and Bay Ridge Avenue in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC’s location context for 13th Avenue in Brooklyn counted 331 crashes, 221 injuries, 10 serious injuries and 4 deaths from 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Xiaohong Chen was remembered as a provider and parent
Brooklyn Eagle described Chen as a 52-year-old mother and wife in the Dyker Heights community who worked as a seamstress and was the sole provider for her family. Her husband, Wei Zhao, called her “a great mother and companion, and a very hard worker.”
The articles differed on the grocery errand: Brooklyn Eagle reported that Chen had left home to pick up groceries, while Brooklyn Paper reported that she was on her way home from grocery shopping.
Police later charged the driver
Brooklyn Paper reported that police arrested Bruce Zurrow, 72, after an investigation and charged him with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to show care. The paper also reported that he remained at the scene after the crash.
Brooklyn Paper reported that records cited from How’s My Driving NY showed Zurrow’s license plate had received 27 camera-issued speeding tickets and three parking tickets since 2018.
Investigators recorded driver inattention
The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as the contributing factor for the driver. Brooklyn Eagle also reported that Chen’s death prompted renewed discussion of daylighting intersections, a street-design approach meant to improve sightlines near corners.