Dump-truck driver hit Williamsburg woman; she later died
A 59-year-old dump-truck driver hit Tamara Jacobowitz at Williamsburg Street West and Wythe Avenue on Dec. 9, police told reporters; she died Jan. 5, and the city record lists one pedestrian killed.
What We Know
Tamara Jacobowitz, 53, was crossing at Williamsburg Street West and Wythe Avenue on Dec. 9 when a 59-year-old driver in a 2024 Western Star dump truck moved forward and hit her, according to press accounts citing police. She was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue in critical condition and died on Jan. 5. The official crash record lists one pedestrian killed at the intersection and identifies a southbound dump truck as the vehicle involved. Sources disagree on the pedestrian signal: press accounts say Jacobowitz had the walk signal in her favor, while the city person record says she was crossing against the signal.
Police said the driver moved forward after the signal changed
Press accounts citing police said Tamara Jacobowitz was crossing Williamsburg Street West at Wythe Avenue on Dec. 9 when a 59-year-old driver in a 2024 Western Star dump truck, who had been stopped at a red light, proceeded forward and hit her. The city crash record lists the crash at 9:41 a.m. and records one pedestrian killed.
Tamara Jacobowitz died weeks after the crash
Jacobowitz, 53, was a South Williamsburg resident, according to the Brooklyn Eagle. Reporters said medics took her to NYC Health and Hospitals/Bellevue in critical condition after the crash, and News 12 reported that she died on Jan. 5.
The signal account differs across records
Brooklyn Eagle and News 12, citing police and investigators, reported that Jacobowitz was crossing with the pedestrian signal in her favor. The official person record says she was crossing against the signal and lists pedestrian error or confusion as a contributing factor.
The driver stayed at the scene
Both press accounts said the driver remained at the scene. They reported that no arrests had been made, and the Brooklyn Eagle said the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad investigation was ongoing.
A fatal crash at a busy Williamsburg intersection
The crash happened at Williamsburg Street West and Wythe Avenue in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC’s Wythe Avenue corridor data show 546 crashes, 241 injuries, 11 serious injuries and 2 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.