Driver charged after woman killed in Lower East Side crosswalk
A driver in a Ford SUV failed to yield while turning at Stanton and Clinton streets, according to city records, and prosecutors later accused Julio Cachago of hitting 76-year-old Yong Li in the crosswalk and leaving.
What We Know
City records say a driver in a Ford SUV was making a right turn at Stanton Street and Clinton Street at 6:56 p.m. on Dec. 18, failed to yield, and hit a 76-year-old woman who was crossing with the signal. Prosecutors identified the woman as Yong Li and accused Julio Cachago of leaving the scene after hitting her. Medics took Li to Bellevue Hospital, where she died. Prosecutors charged Cachago with criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, and failure to yield to a pedestrian; later indictment coverage also listed additional traffic charges.
A right turn into a crosswalk
The city crash record places the collision at Stanton Street and Clinton Street in Manhattan at 6:56 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2025. It records one pedestrian killed and no other injuries.
The official pedestrian record says the 76-year-old woman was at the intersection and crossing with the signal. Police and prosecutors said the driver was turning right from Clinton Street onto Stanton Street when he hit her in the crosswalk and kept going.
Yong Li was later identified as the woman killed
Early police accounts said investigators were still working to identify the woman. Later indictment coverage identified her as 76-year-old Yong Li. First responders took her to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Failure to yield was recorded and charged
The official crash record lists failure to yield right-of-way as a contributing factor. Prosecutors said Li had the walk signal, and Cachago had a green light before turning; drivers turning across a crosswalk must yield to pedestrians who have the right of way.
Reports agree on a Ford Edge but differ on the model year
City vehicle records and the Dec. 22 Daily News account describe the SUV as a 2010 Ford Edge. Some later indictment coverage described it as a 2020 Ford Edge. The reviewed sources agree that prosecutors accused Cachago of driving a Ford Edge in the fatal hit-and-run.
Investigators traced the driver after he left
Police said Cachago was arrested after he tried to report his Ford Edge stolen. The Daily News reported that, by then, police had already flagged it as the SUV involved at Stanton and Clinton streets.
Prosecutors said surveillance video showed the driver pulling over in the Financial District after the crash, getting out, and inspecting the front of the SUV before continuing to the Bronx. The NYPD later found the damaged SUV in the Bronx.
Criminal case followed the fatal crash
Cachago was charged with criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal accident, and failure to yield to a pedestrian. Patch and EV Grieve later reported that a Manhattan grand jury indicted him in the case; EV Grieve also listed charges including a license restriction violation, failure to exercise due care, and unlicensed driving.
Stanton and Clinton sit on a crash-heavy Clinton Street corridor
The crash was recorded at Stanton Street and Clinton Street on the Lower East Side. CrashCountNYC location context identifies Clinton Street in Manhattan as a corridor with 295 crashes, 173 injuries, 13 serious injuries, and one death since 2022.