Driver Kills 75-Year-Old Woman in Sunset Park Hit-and-Run
At 9:35 p.m. on Oct. 4, 2025, a driver at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street in Brooklyn killed a 75-year-old woman who official records say was crossing with the signal; police later identified her as Judith Byron and said the driver fled after running a red light.
What We Know
Judith Byron, 75, was crossing at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street in Sunset Park at about 9:35 p.m. on Oct. 4, 2025, when a driver going north on Seventh Avenue hit her. The official record says she was a pedestrian at the intersection crossing with the signal, and it lists traffic-control disregard as a contributing factor. Police told reporters the driver ran a red light and fled; articles described the searched-for driver as being in a silver SUV, with CBS and News 12 reporting police were looking for a silver Toyota SUV. Byron was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and pronounced dead. No arrests were reported in the reviewed accounts.
Police said the driver ran a red light and fled
The crash was recorded at 9:35 p.m. on Oct. 4, 2025, at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street in Brooklyn. The official record says a 75-year-old woman pedestrian was killed at the intersection while crossing with the signal, and that the driver was going north on Seventh Avenue before impact.
Police told reporters the driver ran a red light and left the scene. ABC7 reported that officers found the woman with trauma throughout her body and that first responders took her to Maimonides Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Judith Byron was remembered as a neighborhood fixture
Police identified the woman killed as Judith Byron, 75. CBS reported that she was crossing just feet from her home, and NBC New York reported that she lived around the corner from the intersection.
Her husband, Henry Byron, told News 12 they had been married for more than 50 years and said, “She was a good mother, she was a good grandmother, she would take care of my granddaughter every day, five days a week.” CBS reported that relatives described her as the family matriarch and that neighbors remembered her presence on the block.
Police searched for a driver in a silver SUV
ABC7 and NBC New York reported that investigators believed the driver was in a silver SUV. CBS and News 12 reported that police were searching for a silver Toyota SUV, and CBS said the driver was last seen going north on Seventh Avenue.
The record points to traffic-control disregard
The official crash record lists traffic-control disregard as a contributing factor for the crash, and the vehicle record lists traffic-control disregard and driver inattention or distraction. Press accounts attributed to police said the driver ran a red light before leaving the scene.
Seventh Avenue has a documented crash history
The crash happened at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC location data for Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn shows 837 crashes, 505 injuries, 23 serious injuries and 6 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
Neighbors pressed for changes after the fatal crash
The Brooklyn Eagle reported that Sunset Park residents demanded safety upgrades at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street after three crashes in a month, including Byron’s death. The article said neighbors were petitioning for speed and red-light cameras, and that the city Department of Transportation said it was reviewing the location for improvements.