Unlicensed Driver Fatally Injures Crown Heights Pedestrian, 101
Police said Menachem Shagalow, an unlicensed driver, turned left at Brooklyn Avenue and Montgomery Street and hit 101-year-old Taibel Brod as she crossed with the walk signal; she died April 20.
What We Know
Taibel Brod was crossing Montgomery Street with the walk signal around 8:25 p.m. on April 8, 2025, when police said 65-year-old Menachem Shagalow turned left in a 2023 GMC Yukon at Brooklyn Avenue and Montgomery Street and hit her. The city crash record lists failure to yield right of way and driver inattention or distraction for the unlicensed driver's SUV. EMS took Brod to Maimonides Medical Center with head injuries; police said she died on April 20. Relatives described her as a longtime Crown Heights resident and Chabad family matriarch who remained active and independent.
A left turn at a walk signal
At about 8:25 p.m. on April 8, police said 65-year-old Menachem Shagalow was driving a 2023 GMC Yukon south on Brooklyn Avenue and turning left east onto Montgomery Street when he hit Taibel Brod in the crosswalk. Police and the city crash record state that Brod was crossing with the signal.
The city record lists one pedestrian killed and no other injuries in the crash.
Brooklyn Avenue and Montgomery Street in Crown Heights
The fatal crash was recorded at Brooklyn Avenue and Montgomery Street in Brooklyn, at the Crown Heights intersection where articles said Brod was crossing Montgomery Street.
The corner was close to Brod's life in the neighborhood. The Post reported that her Crown Heights home was a short walk from the crash, and relatives described her as part of a Chabad family that had lived in the area for decades.
Taibel Brod's life in Crown Heights
Sources describe Brod's age differently: the city record, police and two articles identify her as 101, while relatives told the Daily News she was said to be 99 because she left Russia after World War II using another person's passport.
Family members identified Brod as a Hasidic Jewish matriarch, a mother of five, and a longtime Crown Heights resident. Relatives said she was born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, fled Russia after World War II, lived in a displaced persons camp in Germany, and came to New York in 1951.
Her sons described decades of volunteer work and daily independence. Yosef Brod told the Post, "For over 50 years she would feed patients."
Hospital care, death and arrest
EMS took Brod to Maimonides Medical Center with head injuries. Police said she was initially in stable condition and died from her injuries on April 20.
Police arrested Shagalow shortly after the crash and charged him with aggravated unlicensed operator, failure to exercise due care, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The Post reported that he was released on a desk appearance ticket and was set to be arraigned April 28.