Unlicensed SUV driver backs over Midtown pedestrians, kills woman
An unlicensed SUV driver backing on E 40th at Fifth hit two people crossing with the signal. A woman died from head wounds. A 55-year-old man suffered a head fracture. Police recorded backing unsafely and failure to yield.
What We Know
An unlicensed SUV driver backing west on East 40th Street at Fifth Avenue hit two pedestrians in the intersection Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan. According to the police report, both were crossing with the signal when the driver hit them. A woman sustained fatal head injuries. A 55-year-old man suffered head trauma and a fracture. Police recorded backing unsafely and failure to yield as contributing factors. A box-truck driver was stopped in traffic during the crash.
People
Pedestrian killed
Female; Pedestrian location: Pedestrian/Bicyclist/Other Pedestrian at Intersection; Pedestrian action: Crossing With Signal; Injury: Killed
Vehicles
SUV
2001 TOYT -CAR/SUV; Occupants: 1; Pre-crash movement: Backing; Travel direction: West; Point of impact: Center Back End; Damage: Center Back End; Driver license status: Unlicensed; Contributing factor: Backing Unsafely; Second contributing factor: Failure to Yield Right-of-Way
Truck
2006 ISU-TRUCK/BUS; Occupants: 1; Pre-crash movement: Stopped in Traffic; Travel direction: East; Point of impact: Left Front Bumper; Damage: Left Front Bumper; Driver license status: Licensed
Police said a driver reversed from the crosswalk
The crash was recorded at 2:40 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2025, at East 40th Street and Fifth Avenue. CBS reported that police said a married couple visiting from Germany was crossing with the right of way when a minivan driver reversed at high speed from a blocked crosswalk and pinned them against a box truck.
The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and one pedestrian injured. CBS reported that a woman died at the scene, her husband was hospitalized with a fractured skull, and FDNY said a third person had minor injuries, with that person’s connection to the couple not immediately clear.
A visitor from Hamburg died; her husband was hospitalized
CBS identified the pedestrian who died as Alexandra Sabine Lewalter Maric, 50, of Hamburg, and said her 55-year-old husband was hospitalized in stable condition. NBC, citing sources, also described the victims as German tourists walking near the New York Public Library.
Police said officers found the driver several blocks away
NBC reported that law enforcement sources said the driver left the scene and was tracked to West 38th Street and Eighth Avenue. CBS reported that police identified him as Mohamed Abouzaid, 40, of the Bronx, and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and failing to yield to pedestrians.
The record and police account both focus on backing and right of way
The city crash record lists backing unsafely for the collision; for the backing SUV, it also lists failure to yield right-of-way. CBS reported that police said the driver had blocked the crosswalk before reversing and that the couple had the right of way.
Sources used different labels for the backing vehicle
The city crash record lists a 2001 Toyota SUV traveling west and backing, and a 2006 Isuzu box truck stopped in traffic. NBC described the person behind the wheel as a van driver, while CBS described a minivan driver.
Fifth Avenue has a long crash record
The crash location is East 40th Street and Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
Since 2022, CrashCountNYC corridor data for Fifth Avenue in Manhattan shows 1,750 crashes, 971 injuries, 74 serious injuries and 5 deaths.
Press Articles
CrashCount has not found any press coverage for this fatal crash.