Nurse in scrubs killed by hit-and-run on Brooklyn's Third Avenue
A 28-year-old nurse was fatally struck by a driver who ran a red light and fled the scene on Third Avenue in Sunset Park.
Jiayi Zheng, a 28-year-old nurse employed by NYU Langone-Brooklyn Hospital, was crossing the intersection of 55th Street and Third Avenue in Sunset Park when a black Cadillac sedan ran a red light around 7:30 a.m. and collided with her, sending her airborne onto the median. Emergency responders transported her back to the same hospital, but she succumbed to severe head and neck injuries. A witness, Antonio Perez, reported that the driver, whose vehicle displayed Pennsylvania plates, fled without stopping.
The crash occurred on a roadway that Senator Andrew Gounardes says remains dangerously unsafe despite a 2023 redesign proposal that was never implemented. Transportation Alternatives noted Zheng is the ninth hit-and-run victim citywide in two weeks and the 11th fatality on the two-mile Third Avenue corridor since 2014. Hospital officials and colleagues described her as a dedicated caregiver, while community leaders are urging the NYC Department of Transportation to act promptly. The suspect remains at large.
Why it matters
The death highlights ongoing safety failures on a busy Brooklyn corridor and raises concerns about hit-and-run accountability.
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