Driver Charged After Bellerose Pedestrian Dies
NYC crash data says a pickup driver failed to yield while turning left at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue, and police later charged Benjamin Jean-Baptiste after Jose Jimenez died from a head injury.
What We Know
On Dec. 14, 2024, at about 6:41 p.m., Benjamin Jean-Baptiste, 39, was driving a 2010 Dodge Ram pickup north on 91st Avenue and turning left onto Jericho Turnpike in Bellerose when he hit Jose Jimenez, 78, who was crossing Jericho Turnpike, police told reporters. NYC’s crash record lists failure to yield as a contributing factor and says the pedestrian was crossing with the signal. Jimenez was taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset with a head injury and died on Dec. 19. Police initially reported no arrest, but in May 2025 they charged Jean-Baptiste with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care.
A left turn at Jericho Turnpike
Police accounts in the reviewed articles say Benjamin Jean-Baptiste, 39, was driving north on 91st Avenue in a 2010 Dodge Ram pickup and was making a left turn onto Jericho Turnpike at about 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2024, when he hit Jose Jimenez, 78, as Jimenez was crossing the thoroughfare.
NYC’s crash record also lists the pickup driver as making a left turn and identifies failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor. The record says the pedestrian was crossing with the signal; article accounts describe him as crossing at the intersection.
A Bellerose crossing on a busy throughway
The crash happened at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue in Bellerose, Queens. News reports described Jericho Turnpike as a busy, heavily traveled thoroughfare, and said Jimenez was crossing there a few blocks from his home.
Jose Jimenez died five days later
Officers from the 105th Precinct and EMS responded after a 911 call. Reporters citing police said Jimenez suffered a head injury and was taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he was initially listed in stable condition.
Police sources told reporters that Jimenez died from his injuries on Dec. 19, 2024. The Daily News reported that he lived a few blocks from both the crash site and Jean-Baptiste’s nearby home.
The pickup was identified as a Dodge Ram
The official vehicle entry lists one 2010 Dodge pickup with two occupants. Police accounts published by the Daily News, amNY, and QNS identified it as a 2010 Dodge Ram pickup.
Failure to yield appears in the record and the charges
NYC’s crash record names failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor. In May 2025, police charged Jean-Baptiste with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care, both misdemeanors.
Police made an arrest months after the crash
Police initially said the driver stayed at the scene, was not speeding, and was not driving recklessly, and no arrest had been made. After an ongoing investigation, police arrested Jean-Baptiste on May 20, 2025.
The Daily News reported that Jean-Baptiste received a desk appearance ticket. QNS reported that he was ordered to return to Queens Criminal Court on June 9.