Driver in Lexus Killed Bronx Grandmother Outside Her Home
At about 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2022, a man driving a 2016 Lexus SUV at Bronxdale and Cruger avenues fatally pinned Paulina Nrecaj, 59, against a fence outside her building, police told the Daily News.
What We Know
Paulina Nrecaj, 59, was killed on Sept. 9, 2022, at Bronxdale and Cruger avenues in the Bronx. Police told the Daily News that a man driving a 2016 Lexus swerved to avoid a stopped van, went onto the sidewalk and pinned Nrecaj against a wrought iron fence outside the building where relatives said she had raised her family. City crash records list driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor and record one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured. Nrecaj was taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where she died; the 45-year-old driver remained at the scene and was also taken there in stable condition, according to the Daily News.
A driver went onto the sidewalk at Bronxdale and Cruger
The crash happened at about 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Police told the Daily News that a man driving a 2016 Lexus swerved to avoid a stopped van, went onto the sidewalk at Bronxdale and Cruger avenues and pinned Paulina Nrecaj against a wrought iron fence.
City records identify the crash vehicle as a 2016 Lexus SUV traveling east and list driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor.
The crash happened outside the building where Nrecaj lived
The official crash record places the fatal crash at Bronxdale Avenue and Cruger Avenue in the Bronx. Relatives told the Daily News it happened outside the building where Nrecaj had raised her family.
The city record describes the killed pedestrian as not in the roadway, while the Daily News account says the driver went onto the sidewalk at the corner before Nrecaj was pinned to the fence.
Relatives described a sudden loss on a familiar block
The Daily News identified the victim as Paulina Nrecaj, 59, a grandmother of Albanian descent who immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia as a child. Relatives said she had been walking to get pizza when the crash happened.
Her husband, Frane Nrecaj, told the Daily News he was preparing for his nightly walk when a neighbor knocked and said his wife had been hit. He ran downstairs and found a neighbor holding her as she bled heavily.
Nrecaj died at Jacobi Medical Center
Emergency responders took Nrecaj to Jacobi Medical Center, where she later died, according to the Daily News. The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured.
The Daily News reported that the 45-year-old driver stayed with the Lexus at the scene and was taken to the same hospital in stable condition.