Driver Hits and Kills 7-Year-Old in Queens Crosswalk
On Feb. 17, 2023, at Newtown Road and 45th Street in Queens, a 46-year-old woman who police said rolled through a stop sign hit and killed 7-year-old pedestrian Dolma Naadhun.
What We Know
Dolma Naadhun, 7, was crossing in a marked crosswalk at Newtown Road and 45th Street in Queens on Feb. 17, 2023, when a driver in a Ford SUV hit and killed her. The official crash record lists driver inexperience as a contributing factor and says the driver had a permit. Gothamist reported that police said a 46-year-old woman rolled through a stop sign; the Department of Transportation said she was driving alone with a learner’s permit and had a legal amount of alcohol in her system. After Dolma’s death, her 11-year-old brother Tsering Tashi Takgye petitioned for a traffic light, and DOT announced it would install one after an intersection control study.
A child was crossing in a marked crosswalk
The crash happened at 5:49 p.m. on Feb. 17, 2023, at Newtown Road and 45th Street in Queens. The official record says the 7-year-old pedestrian was crossing at the intersection in a marked crosswalk when a driver in a Ford SUV traveling east hit her. She was killed, and no other injuries were recorded.
Gothamist identified the child as Dolma Naadhun. The outlet reported that police said a 46-year-old woman rolled through a stop sign before hitting her.
Newtown Road and 45th Street had a deadly record
The crash occurred at Newtown Road and 45th Street in Queens, near the 45th Street corridor tracked by CrashCountNYC.
Since 2022, CrashCountNYC’s location context for 45th Street in Queens shows 179 crashes, 85 injuries, 9 serious injuries and 2 deaths.
Permit driving and inexperience were cited
The official crash record lists driver inexperience as a contributing factor and says the driver had a New York permit. Gothamist reported that the Department of Transportation said the driver was alone with a learner’s permit and had a legal amount of alcohol in her system.
Her family pushed for a traffic signal
After the crash, Dolma’s 11-year-old brother, Tsering Tashi Takgye, created a petition calling for a traffic light at the intersection. Gothamist quoted him writing, “I miss my sister every second. My family's mission is to make sure this horrible tragedy doesn't happen to any other family.”
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the agency would install a traffic signal after an intersection control study. Gothamist reported that DOT had already added safety measures at the site, including improved crosswalk markings, a curb extension and daylighting.