Driver indicted after Lower East Side crosswalk death
Prosecutors say Julio Cachago hit 76-year-old Yong Li while turning into the Stanton Street crosswalk where the official record says she had the signal, then drove away; Li died at Bellevue Hospital.
What We Know
On Dec. 18, 2025, police and prosecutors said Julio Cachago turned right from Clinton Street onto Stanton Street on the Lower East Side and hit Yong Li as she crossed Stanton Street in a marked crosswalk. The official record lists the pedestrian as a 76-year-old woman crossing with the signal and records one pedestrian death, with failure to yield cited for the crash. Li was taken to Bellevue Hospital and died there. Prosecutors later said Cachago did not remain at the scene and reported his Ford Edge missing after police had located it. He was arrested and later indicted on charges including criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, and failure to yield to a pedestrian.
A right turn into a marked crosswalk
Police and prosecutors said Julio Cachago was driving north on Clinton Street around 7 p.m. on Dec. 18 and turned right onto Stanton Street, where Yong Li was crossing in a marked crosswalk. The official record says the pedestrian was crossing with the signal, and prosecutors said she had the walk light.
Medics took Li to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Early police accounts had not identified her publicly; later reporting identified her as 76-year-old Yong Li.
Stanton and Clinton sit on a crash-burdened corridor
The crash happened at Stanton Street and Clinton Street on the Lower East Side, according to the official record and police accounts.
CrashCountNYC’s Clinton Street corridor context recorded 295 crashes, 173 injuries, 13 serious injuries and one death since 2022.
Yong Li and Julio Cachago were later named
The official person record lists the pedestrian as a 76-year-old woman at the intersection crossing with the signal. Later reporting identified her as Yong Li.
Prosecutors identified Julio Cachago of Queens as the driver they accused in the fatal hit-and-run.
Failure to yield was central to the case
The official vehicle record listed failure to yield right-of-way and driver inattention or distraction as contributing factors. Prosecutors likewise accused Cachago of failing to yield to a pedestrian.
Reports agreed that prosecutors tied the case to a Ford Edge, but the model year differed: the official record and Daily News reporting pointed to a 2010 Ford SUV or Ford Edge, while later Patch and EV Grieve indictment coverage described a 2020 Ford Edge.
Charges followed the hit-and-run investigation
The Daily News reported that police arrested Cachago after he tried to report that his Ford Edge had been stolen, after investigators had already flagged it in the Stanton and Clinton hit-and-run. He was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court and ordered held on bond.
The Manhattan district attorney later announced an indictment. Reported charges included criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, failure to yield to a pedestrian, failure to exercise due care, a license restriction violation and unlicensed driving.