Box Truck Driver Charged After Woman Killed in Crosswalk
A driver making a left turn in a box truck hit and killed Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez as she crossed with the signal at Gates and St. Nicholas avenues; reporters later identified the driver as William Cruz and said he was charged.
What We Know
On April 17, 2026, a driver making a left turn in a box truck hit Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn. The city crash record says the 30-year-old pedestrian was crossing with the signal at the intersection. News reports said she had just dropped her 6-year-old daughter at school and was on her way to work. Police later arrested William Cruz, 49, of Carteret, New Jersey, and charged him with failure to yield to a pedestrian causing injury and failure to exercise due care. Reports differed on her age, with published accounts listing 29, 30, and 32; the city record listed her as 30.
A left turn at the crosswalk
The crash happened at 8:26 a.m. on April 17, 2026, at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn. The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and says she was crossing with the signal at the intersection when a driver in a box truck was making a left turn.
News reports said a 49-year-old driver in a 2024 Freightliner was turning from St. Nicholas onto Gates Avenue when he hit Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez in the crosswalk. Emergency responders took her to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where she died.
Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez was near home and heading to work
Reporters identified the woman killed as Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez. Her age was reported differently across accounts: ABC7 and News 12 reported 29, an early Daily News story reported 32, a later Daily News arrest story reported 30, and the city crash record listed 30.
The Daily News reported that Chacho Sanchez had just dropped off her 6-year-old daughter at school and was heading to work at a clothing shipping warehouse in Greenpoint. The paper reported that she was from Cuenca, Ecuador, immigrated to New York City in 2012, and had been staying with her father and daughter in Ridgewood.
After Cruz was charged, the Daily News quoted her half brother Christian Chacho: "At this point, whatever they do, it’s not going to bring my sister back." He also said, "We’re still in shock."
Failure to yield and inattention were recorded
The city crash record lists failure to yield the right of way and driver inattention or distraction for the box truck driver. It also records the driver as licensed in New Jersey and the truck as a 2024 Freightliner truck or bus.
Brooklyn Eagle, citing News 12, reported that the driver made a left turn and failed to yield while Chacho Sanchez was in the crosswalk.
Police later arrested the driver
The Daily News reported that police arrested William Cruz, 49, of Carteret, New Jersey, on April 29 and charged him with failure to yield to a pedestrian causing injury and failure to exercise due care. News 12 also reported those charges.
Reports described the driver’s departure in different ways. Streetsblog said police reported that the driver fled. The Daily News later reported that police stopped him about a block away and that investigators believed he did not realize he had hit Chacho Sanchez. News 12 reported that he returned only after police contacted him.
Gates Avenue has seen repeated harm
The fatal crash happened at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn.
CrashCountNYC’s location context for Gates Avenue in Brooklyn counted 748 crashes, 422 injuries, 26 serious injuries, and 2 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.