Driver indicted after teen killed in Queens crosswalk hit-and-run
City records say a driver making a left turn at 47th Avenue and 46th Street killed a 16-year-old pedestrian and injured another; prosecutors later charged Boubacar Barry in the hit-and-run.
What We Know
On June 26, 2024, a driver turning at 47th Avenue and 46th Street in Queens hit two pedestrians in a crosswalk, according to city records and prosecutors. Jael Zhinin, 16, was killed, and her 8-year-old sister, Leslie, was seriously injured. Prosecutors later identified the driver as Boubacar Barry, a water delivery truck driver, and said surveillance video showed him looking toward the rear driver’s side of the truck instead of straight ahead before he continued southbound. Barry was indicted on charges including criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene, failure to yield, and failure to exercise due care.
A turn through a crosswalk became a fatal hit-and-run
City records place the crash at 3:26 p.m. on June 26, 2024, at 47th Avenue and 46th Street in Queens, where a driver making a left turn hit pedestrians at the intersection. The official record lists one pedestrian killed and one pedestrian injured.
Prosecutors said Boubacar Barry was traveling westbound on 47th Avenue before turning left onto 46th Street as Jael Zhinin and Leslie Zhinin approached the crosswalk. They said Barry continued southbound after running over the sisters.
The crash happened outside a school-area crosswalk
Police and press accounts placed the crash at or near 46-02 47th Ave. in Woodside, by the intersection of 47th Avenue and 46th Street. The New York Post reported that the sisters were hit outside IS 125, where the younger girl was a student.
Gothamist’s first-day police account described the driver as making a right turn, while city records and the later district attorney account described a left turn.
Jael Zhinin was killed, and her younger sister was seriously hurt
Prosecutors identified the teen who died as Jael Zhinin, 16. Officials said she sustained severe head and torso trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials identified the injured child as Leslie Zhinin, 8, Jael’s sister. Gothamist reported that she remained in ongoing care after the crash; the New York Post reported that EMTs took her to Cornell Medical Center in critical condition with leg injuries.
Records and reports described the driver’s vehicle in different ways
City records list the involved vehicle as a 2016 Ford truck/bus carry-all, with the vehicle type normalized as a sedan. News reports described Barry as a water delivery truck driver, and the New York Post described the vehicle as a white Ready Refresh delivery truck.
Police told the New York Post that officers found the vehicle nearby at 46th Street and 48th Avenue after the driver left the scene.
Prosecutors focused on yielding, attention, and leaving the scene
The city crash record lists View Obstructed/Limited as a contributing factor. Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Barry looking toward the rear driver’s side of his truck instead of straight ahead as the sisters neared the crosswalk.
Queens prosecutors said Barry was indicted on an 11-count indictment that included criminally negligent homicide, two counts of leaving the scene without reporting, assault in the third degree, failure-to-yield counts, and due-care counts.
Barry was indicted weeks later
Gothamist reported that Boubacar Barry, identified by prosecutors as 28 and from Manhattan, was charged weeks after the crash. The New York Post, citing police, reported his age as 29 when he was arrested.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Barry could face up to seven years in prison and that he was ordered to return to court on Sept. 19.