Driver Charged After Bellerose Pedestrian Dies From Left-Turn Crash
City data says a driver making a left turn in a pickup failed to yield at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue, and police later charged Benjamin Jean-Baptiste after the 78-year-old pedestrian died.
What We Know
On Dec. 14, 2024, a driver making a left turn in a pickup at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue hit a 78-year-old pedestrian, according to city crash data and police accounts. The city record cites failure to yield and records the pedestrian as crossing with the signal. Police later identified the driver as Benjamin Jean-Baptiste and charged him with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care. News accounts identify the pedestrian as Jose Jimenez; QNS spells his surname Jiminez. He was taken to North Shore University Hospital and died on Dec. 19.
A left turn at Jericho Turnpike
The crash happened at about 6:41 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2024, at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue in Bellerose. City data records a driver in a 2010 Dodge pickup making a left turn and cites failure to yield; it also records the 78-year-old pedestrian as crossing with the signal.
Police accounts in the reviewed articles said Benjamin Jean-Baptiste, 39, was driving north on 91st Avenue and turning left onto Jericho Turnpike when he hit the pedestrian crossing the thoroughfare.
The pedestrian died days later
EMS took the pedestrian to North Shore University Hospital with a head injury. The articles say he initially was listed in stable condition, but he died on Dec. 19, 2024.
amNY and the Daily News identify him as Jose Jimenez, 78, of Bellerose. QNS identifies him as Jose Jiminez, 78, of Bellerose.
Failure to yield was central to the record and charges
The city crash record lists failure to yield right-of-way as the contributing factor. Months later, police charged Jean-Baptiste with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care, both misdemeanors, according to the Daily News and QNS.
Police said Jean-Baptiste remained at the scene. amNY and QNS reported that investigators said he was not speeding or driving recklessly when the collision occurred.
The driver was told to appear in court
Police arrested Jean-Baptiste on May 20, 2025, about five months after the crash. QNS reported that he received a desk appearance ticket and was ordered to return to Queens Criminal Court on June 9.
A heavily traveled Bellerose corridor
The fatal crash occurred at Jericho Turnpike and 91st Avenue in Queens. CrashCountNYC location context for 91st Avenue in Queens shows 417 crashes, 198 injuries, 6 serious injuries and 2 deaths since 2022.