Chaquasia Pigford charged in Bed-Stuy death of Tiffany Cifuni
Prosecutors say Chaquasia Pigford accelerated into Tiffany Cifuni after a late-night fender-bender in Bed-Stuy and fled; the official record lists a 32-year-old pedestrian killed at Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Van Buren Street at 11:55 p.m. on May 24, 2025.
What We Know
After a minor crash near Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Van Buren Street late on May 24, 2025, prosecutors said Tiffany Cifuni got out of her Toyota 4Runner to speak with the other driver. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Chaquasia Pigford, driving a stolen red Chevrolet Trax, accelerated into Cifuni and dragged her north on Marcus Garvey Boulevard before leaving on foot. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed at 11:55 p.m. Cifuni, 32, was pregnant; prosecutors said she was 12 weeks pregnant, and relatives told ABC7 she had been heading home from a Beyonce concert. Pigford was later arraigned on murder, manslaughter, reckless endangerment and leaving-the-scene charges.
Prosecutors describe a fatal confrontation after a fender-bender
Brooklyn prosecutors said Chaquasia Pigford, 28, rear-ended Tiffany Cifuni's 2021 Toyota 4Runner near Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Van Buren Street shortly before midnight. After Cifuni got out to speak with Pigford, prosecutors said Pigford accelerated, hit Cifuni and dragged her north on Marcus Garvey Boulevard before her body was dislodged near Lafayette Street.
Early police accounts reported that the driver continued against traffic on Lafayette Avenue, hit parked vehicles and left on foot. Emergency medical workers took Cifuni to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Tiffany Cifuni was pregnant and heading home from a concert
Cifuni was 32. Relatives told ABC7 she was in her first trimester and had been heading home from a Beyonce concert; prosecutors later said she was 12 weeks pregnant.
Her husband, James Cifuni, told the Daily News, "I lost my whole family tonight and I don't think I'll ever be the same."
Pigford was indicted on murder and other charges
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Pigford was arraigned on an indictment charging second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, first-degree reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident without reporting and related counts.
The DA said Pigford was ordered held without bail and directed to return to court on July 30, 2025. If convicted of the top count, she faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
A Bed-Stuy corner on a high-crash corridor
The official crash record places the fatal crash at Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Van Buren Street in Brooklyn at 11:55 p.m. on May 24, 2025.
On Marcus Garvey Boulevard in Brooklyn, CrashCountNYC location data shows 503 crashes, 293 injuries, 16 serious injuries and 2 deaths from 2022 through June 1, 2026.