Driver fatally hit 7-year-old girl in Queens crosswalk
Police said a 46-year-old woman with a learner's permit rolled through a stop sign before fatally hitting 7-year-old Dolma Naadhun, whom the official record lists as crossing a marked crosswalk at Newtown Road and 45th Street in Queens.
What We Know
A 7-year-old girl was killed while crossing Newtown Road at 45th Street in Queens. According to the police report, she was walking in a marked crosswalk when a Ford SUV driven by a permit-holder, heading east, hit her with the front center. She died at the scene from internal injuries affecting her entire body. Police recorded driver inexperience as a contributing factor.
The crash at the crosswalk
The official record says Dolma Naadhun, 7, was crossing a marked crosswalk at Newtown Road and 45th Street on Feb. 17, 2023, when she was killed. The driver was traveling east in a 2021 Ford SUV, according to the record.
Gothamist reported that police said a 46-year-old woman rolled through a stop sign before hitting Naadhun.
What officials said about the driver
The official crash record lists driver inexperience as a contributing factor. Gothamist reported that the Department of Transportation said the driver had a learner's permit, was driving alone, and had a legal amount of alcohol in her system.
A family's push for a traffic signal
After Naadhun's death, her 11-year-old brother, Tsering Tashi Takgye, created a petition calling for a traffic light at the intersection. Gothamist reported that local elected leaders joined the family in those demands, and DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez later announced that the city would install a traffic signal after an intersection control study.
The DOT also said it had already made safety changes at the crash site, including improved crosswalk markings, a curb extension and daylighting.
Where
Newtown Rd & 45th St, Queens