Wrong-way driver charged after West Village pedestrian death
Police said Gary Levinson drove the wrong way out of a Morton Street garage and hit Valerie Schoeck in a crosswalk at Seventh Avenue South on Nov. 6, 2025; the official record lists one pedestrian killed.
What We Know
At about 8:34 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2025, a driver making a left turn at Morton Street and Seventh Avenue South hit a 27-year-old pedestrian in a marked crosswalk. The official record lists traffic control disregarded. Police later identified the pedestrian as Valerie Schoeck and the driver as Gary Levinson, saying he turned the wrong way out of a Morton Street garage. Medics took Schoeck to Bellevue Hospital, where she died. In February 2026, police arrested Levinson and charged him with criminally negligent homicide and reckless driving.
A left turn out of a garage led into a crosswalk
The official crash record places the collision at Morton Street and Seventh Avenue South in Manhattan at 8:34 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2025. It says a 27-year-old woman was killed while crossing in a marked crosswalk at the intersection, and it lists the involved driver as making a left turn.
Police and witnesses told the Daily News that the driver was pulling out of a Morton Street parking garage, turned against traffic, and hit the woman in the crosswalk at about 8:30 a.m. Police sources said investigators believed the driver was trying to avoid circling several blocks to reach Seventh Avenue South.
Valerie Schoeck was identified after the crash
Police later identified the woman killed as Valerie Schoeck, 27. Medics took her to Bellevue Hospital, where police said she died about 40 minutes after the crash.
Gothamist reported that Schoeck lived less than a mile from where she was killed. The Daily News reported that she and her fiance, Ross Barlow, had been planning a June wedding and a safari honeymoon, citing a GoFundMe post in her honor.
Police later brought homicide and reckless-driving charges
In February 2026, police arrested Gary Levinson, 62, and charged him with criminally negligent homicide and reckless driving in Schoeck's death. Gothamist reported that Levinson was arraigned and released on his own recognizance; his lawyer called the crash a horrible accident and offered condolences in a statement.
The official record lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor. Press accounts citing police said Levinson was driving against the flow of traffic after leaving the garage.
Reports and the official record describe the vehicle differently
The Daily News described the vehicle as a rented black GMC Savana, and the Post described it as a 2020 GMC Savanna van. The official crash record classifies the involved vehicle as a station wagon or sport utility vehicle and lists a 2020 GMC.
The West Village corner had drawn safety complaints
The crash happened at Morton Street and Seventh Avenue South in Manhattan's West Village, according to the official record and CrashCount location context.
After the crash, Council Member Erik Bottcher asked the Department of Transportation to review the intersection. Streetsblog reported that his letter cited recurring wrong-way driving, confusing traffic patterns, limited visibility, and heavy pedestrian activity, and said DOT records showed seven prior injury crashes at the intersection over five years, with no earlier fatal crashes.