Bus Driver Fatally Hits Woman Crossing in Astoria
A 48-year-old MTA bus driver traveling east on Ditmars Boulevard hit a woman in the crosswalk at 31st Street, where the city recorded one pedestrian death and police said she later died at Elmhurst Hospital.
What We Know
A 48-year-old MTA bus driver was traveling east on Ditmars Boulevard on Jan. 2, 2025, when police said he hit a woman crossing at 31st Street. The city crash record lists the crash at 8:05 a.m. and records a 53-year-old female pedestrian killed at the intersection; police accounts reported by Gothamist and QNS described the woman as about 50 to 60. Police said she was in the crosswalk without a walk signal, and emergency workers took her to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The driver remained at the scene. Police reported no arrests or charges at the time, and Gothamist reported that the MTA said the driver would not work passenger service during the investigation.
A morning crossing ended in a fatal crash
The city crash record lists the crash at 8:05 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2025, at Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street in Queens. It records one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured.
Police told Gothamist that a 48-year-old man driving an MTA bus hit a woman who was walking southbound on 31st Street. Police said she was in the crosswalk but did not have a walk signal. QNS reported the driver had been traveling eastbound on Ditmars Boulevard and remained at the scene.
Ditmars and 31st sits on a high-crash Queens corridor
The crash was recorded at Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street in Queens, an intersection described in coverage as Astoria and the Ditmars-Steinway neighborhood.
CrashCountNYC’s street-level context for 31st Street in Queens shows 658 crashes, 403 injuries, 17 serious injuries and 3 deaths from 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Police and city records described the woman and driver differently
The city person record identifies the pedestrian killed as a 53-year-old woman. Initial police accounts reported by Gothamist and QNS described her as approximately 50 to 60 years old.
The city vehicle record lists the bus driver as a licensed male driver. Gothamist and QNS reported that police described him as 48 years old.
Records cited signal status and limited view as factors
The city person record says the woman was crossing against the signal at an intersection. The vehicle record lists the driver as going straight ahead in an eastbound bus and notes view obstructed or limited as a contributing factor for the bus entry.
Police told Gothamist that the woman was on a crosswalk but did not have a walk signal. That account is consistent with the city record’s signal entry, while the reviewed articles did not describe the obstruction noted in the vehicle record.
The investigation continued after the driver stayed
Emergency medical workers took the woman to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, where police said she was pronounced dead. Police said the driver remained at the scene.
Gothamist reported that the driver was not facing charges as of Jan. 3, and QNS reported that no arrests had been made. Gothamist also reported that the MTA said the driver had not been suspended but would not work passenger service during the investigation.