Driver Indicted After Pedestrian Fatally Injured in Williamsburg
A driver making a left turn failed to yield to a 59-year-old pedestrian at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue, and prosecutors later charged Daniel K. Buckley in the hit-and-run death of Leah Kohn.
What We Know
A 59-year-old woman was fatally injured at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue in Brooklyn on Nov. 28, 2022. The official crash record says a male driver in a 2005 GMC sport utility vehicle was making a left turn and failed to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk. Brooklyn prosecutors later identified the driver as 67-year-old Daniel K. Buckley and the pedestrian as Leah Kohn. They alleged Buckley drove into oncoming traffic on Kent Avenue, made an illegal turn onto Taylor Street, hit Kohn while she had the right of way, and left the scene. Kohn was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center and died on Dec. 17 from complications of blunt force trauma to the head.
Prosecutors described an illegal turn and a fleeing driver
The crash happened at about 5:46 p.m. on Nov. 28, 2022, at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue in Brooklyn. The official record says the driver of a 2005 GMC sport utility vehicle was making a left turn and failed to yield to a 59-year-old woman who was crossing in a marked crosswalk.
Brooklyn prosecutors said Daniel K. Buckley, then 67, drove into oncoming traffic on Kent Avenue, made an illegal turn onto Taylor Street, hit Leah Kohn in the crosswalk, and left without stopping while she lay severely injured in the street.
The fatal injury happened at a Williamsburg intersection
The official record places the crash at Taylor Street and Kent Avenue in Brooklyn’s 11249 ZIP code. Prosecutors and local reports described the location as Williamsburg, near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where Buckley had been working before the crash.
Leah Kohn died weeks after the crash
Prosecutors identified the pedestrian as Leah Kohn, 59, and described her as a grandmother and community member. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center and died on Dec. 17, 2022, from complications of blunt force trauma to the head.
The driver was in a 2005 GMC sport utility vehicle
The official record lists one driver, a licensed man in a 2005 GMC sport utility vehicle, with damage to the right front bumper and center front end. Prosecutors identified the vehicle as a 2005 GMC Envoy.
Yielding and lane use were central to the record and charges
The official record cites failure to yield right-of-way and improper passing or lane use by the driver. Prosecutors said Buckley drove the wrong way into oncoming traffic, made an illegal turn, and failed to yield to Kohn in the crosswalk.