Driver charged after Bushwick hit-and-run kills pedestrian
A driver killed 71-year-old Juanita Vidal and injured another pedestrian in a Bushwick crosswalk, and police later charged Robert Matthews after saying he fled an attempted traffic stop.
What We Know
Juanita Vidal, 71, was killed and another woman was injured on May 9, 2024, at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick. Police said a driver in a 2024 Mazda CX-5 fled an attempted NYPD traffic stop, traveled north on Eldert Street, went through two stop signs, swerved near Knickerbocker Avenue, and hit the women as they crossed Eldert Street. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured, traffic control disregarded, and unsafe speed for the Mazda driver. Police later arrested Robert Matthews, 26, and prosecutors charged him with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, unlawful fleeing, and leaving an accident resulting in death.
Police said the driver fled a stop before the crosswalk impact
The crash was recorded at 5:02 p.m. on May 9, 2024, at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue. Police told reporters that an NYPD vehicle had tried to stop a driver in a 2024 Mazda CX-5 near Wilson Avenue and Eldert Street, and that the driver continued north on Eldert Street, went through two stop signs, swerved near Knickerbocker Avenue, and hit two pedestrians crossing Eldert Street.
After hitting the pedestrians, police said the driver hit a parked Chevrolet van and then left on foot. The official record lists a parked van and a parked Honda among the involved vehicles.
Juanita Vidal died, and another woman was critically injured
The official record identifies the fatal victim as a 71-year-old woman crossing at the intersection in a marked crosswalk with no signal. Press reports identified her as Juanita Vidal, a Bushwick resident.
Police and press reports said a 44-year-old woman was also hit and taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Elmhurst in critical but stable condition. Reports disagreed on the family relationship between the two women: amNY said Vidal was crossing with her daughter, Brooklyn Paper called them reportedly mother and daughter, and News 12 reported that sources described Vidal as the daughter of the injured woman.
The record and the charges point to red flags before impact
The official crash record lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor for the crash and lists unsafe speed for the Mazda driver. It also records the Mazda driver as unlicensed.
On July 22, police arrested Robert Matthews, 26, in the 83rd Precinct. amNY reported that he faced charges including second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle, and leaving an accident resulting in death.
A Bushwick intersection on a corridor with repeated harm
The crash happened at Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC location data for the Knickerbocker Avenue corridor shows 768 crashes, 318 injuries, 12 serious injuries, and 2 deaths since 2022.