Driver Fleeing NYPD Stop Kills Pedestrian in Bed-Stuy
A driver fleeing an NYPD car stop at high speed hit a 67-year-old woman who was crossing with the signal at Ralph Avenue and Macon Street, killing her and injuring four other people, records and police accounts show.
What We Know
On June 25, 2022, police said officers tried to stop a gray 2021 Honda HR-V with mismatched plates near Ralph Avenue and Chauncey Street. The driver fled south of the stop area at high speed toward Ralph Avenue and Macon Street, where a 67-year-old woman was crossing with the signal and was killed. Four other people were injured, including an 8-year-old boy whom press accounts identified as her grandson. The Daily News reported that they were returning from Saratoga Park. Police later arrested Tyler Green, 22, and accused him in the fatal hit-and-run; amNewYork reported he was charged with murder and manslaughter.
Police said the driver fled a stop before the fatal impact
Police said officers from the 81st Precinct tried to stop a gray 2021 Honda HR-V with mismatched plates near Ralph Avenue and Chauncey Street at about 7:10 p.m. on June 25, 2022. As officers approached, the driver sped away toward Ralph Avenue and Macon Street.
At Ralph Avenue and Macon Street, police said the driver crossed into oncoming traffic, passed vehicles stopped at a red light, hit a bicyclist, and then hit a 67-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy in the crosswalk area. The city crash record says the woman was crossing with the signal at the intersection.
A woman was killed, and four other people were injured
The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and four people injured: two pedestrians, one bicyclist, and one motorist. Gothamist reported that the 8-year-old boy was in critical condition the next day, while the bicyclist, a Honda Accord driver, and another pedestrian were hospitalized with injuries described as not life-threatening.
Press accounts identified the woman as Lyn or Lynn Christopher, age 67. The Daily News reported that she had been returning from Saratoga Park with her 8-year-old grandson, Jacob Butler, and quoted her son saying, "She should never have died like that."
Records and police accounts describe a multi-vehicle crash path
The official vehicle records list a 2021 Honda SUV traveling north, a parked 2017 Nissan SUV, a 2020 Honda sedan traveling west, a parked e-bike, and a bicyclist traveling south. amNewYork reported that police described the fleeing vehicle as a gray 2021 Honda HR-V and said the driver also sideswiped a parked Nissan Pathfinder and hit a Honda Accord before mounting the sidewalk area and hitting another pedestrian.
Speed and lane violations appear in both records and police accounts
The city crash record lists unsafe speed and improper passing or lane usage as contributing factors for the crash. The vehicle record for the 2021 Honda SUV also lists unsafe speed and disregarding traffic control. Police accounts in Gothamist and amNewYork said the driver fled at a high rate of speed and crossed into oncoming traffic.
The crash happened at Ralph Avenue and Macon Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant
The official crash record places the fatal collision at Ralph Avenue and Macon Street in Brooklyn's 11233 ZIP code. Press accounts described the location as Bedford-Stuyvesant and said the woman was near the crosswalk at that intersection when she and the boy were hit.
An arrest followed months later
Gothamist reported the day after the crash that one occupant had been taken into custody, another had fled, and no charges had been filed. amNewYork later reported that police arrested Tyler Green, 22, on October 13, 2022, and charged him with murder and manslaughter in the fatal hit-and-run.