A driver struck and killed Gerritsen Beach resident Carmen Santacruz just steps from her Gerritsen Avenue home on March 7, police said.
The 55-year-old driver was heading toward Lois Avenue in his 2016 red Ford pickup truck when he struck 69-year-old Santacruz between Whitney Avenue and Avenue W at about 6:20 pm, according to authorities. Santacruz was crossing the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare towards Veterans Memorial Way, right across from her house in the middle of the block, when the driver struck her, police said.
Emergency responders arrived at the scene and found her unconscious and unresponsive, and transported her to Coney Island Hospital, where she then died, a police department spokesman said.
The driver remained at the scene — he was not intoxicated and does not have a suspended license, the spokesman said.
The city’s Collision Investigation Squad is investigating the accident, police said.
Locals have pushed for more traffic lights along Gerritsen Avenue after a drunk driver hit and killed 17-year-old Sean Ryan, who was riding his bike in the middle of the street near Florence Avenue on July 17.
