Driver Charged After Pedestrian Killed on Far Rockaway Sidewalk
Police said Kiani Phoenix drove onto a Far Rockaway sidewalk after an argument on Aug. 27, 2022, killing 59-year-old Milton Storch and injuring another pedestrian outside 601 Beach 20th Street.
What We Know
Police said Kiani Phoenix was arguing with another woman in Far Rockaway on Aug. 27, 2022, before she drove onto the sidewalk outside 601 Beach 20th Street. Milton Storch, 59, was sitting on a walker outside the Rohan Deli when Phoenix allegedly hit him while trying to reach the other woman, according to police accounts cited by the Post. The city crash record logged the crash at 7:19 a.m., with one pedestrian killed, one pedestrian injured, and aggressive driving or road rage recorded as a contributing factor. Storch was pronounced dead at St. John’s Hospital. Phoenix later turned herself in and was reported charged with murder, attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and leaving the scene.
Police described a sidewalk attack after an argument
The city crash record places the crash at 7:19 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2022, outside 601 Beach 20th Street in Queens. It records one pedestrian killed and one pedestrian injured.
Police said Kiani Phoenix had argued with another woman before she drove onto the sidewalk in a Honda sedan. According to police accounts reported by the Post, she was allegedly trying to hit that woman when she hit Milton Storch, who was sitting on a walker outside the Rohan Deli.
Police said Phoenix then backed up and hit another man before leaving the scene. Storch was taken to St. John’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead; the second injured man was also taken there with injuries described as minor or non-life-threatening.
Milton Storch was remembered as a regular presence on the block
Milton Storch was 59 and lived in the neighborhood, according to the Post. A housemate told the paper, “He didn’t come home last night, but I didn’t know he was dead!”
Neighbors described Storch as quiet and familiar on Beach 20th Street. Jorge Alberto Senquis said Storch was often there in the morning and added, “Wrong place, wrong time.”
Beach 20th Street had a continuing crash toll
The fatal crash happened outside 601 Beach 20th Street in Far Rockaway, near the Rohan Deli described in press accounts.
CrashCountNYC’s location context for Beach 20th Street in Queens shows 151 crashes, 68 injuries, 2 serious injuries, and 1 death from 2022 through June 1, 2026.
The recorded vehicle was a Honda sedan
The city crash record lists a Honda sedan traveling south and going straight ahead, with two occupants. The record also lists aggressive driving or road rage as a contributing factor.
Press accounts likewise described the driver as using a Honda sedan, and one later article identified it as a Honda Accord.
Phoenix turned herself in and faced major charges
The Post reported that Phoenix turned herself in two days after the crash. Reports listed charges including murder, attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and leaving the scene without reporting.
Phoenix’s attorney, Marvyn Kornberg, told the Post that she had been attacked before the crash and said, “She’s extremely, extremely sorry for what happened.” The criminal complaint described the argument as turning physical before Phoenix allegedly tried to run down the other woman on the sidewalk.