Taxi Driver Crash Leaves Woman Dead on Queens Sidewalk
Police said a 23-year-old taxi driver and a 25-year-old Honda driver collided at Lefferts Boulevard and 115th Avenue, after which a 51-year-old pedestrian was killed and two others were injured on the sidewalk.
What We Know
Police said a 23-year-old cab driver in a Toyota RAV4 and a 25-year-old Honda Accord driver collided near 115th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard about 3:10 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2024. The collision sent the cab onto the sidewalk, where Vidya Dookran-Franco, 51, and two men were hit. The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and two pedestrians injured, with Traffic Control Disregarded recorded as a contributing factor. Police said Dookran-Franco died at Jamaica Hospital, the two men survived, both drivers remained at the scene, and no arrests had been made that day.
A pre-dawn crash reached the sidewalk
The crash happened around 3:10 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2024, when police said a 23-year-old cab driver in a Toyota RAV4 and a 25-year-old man driving a Honda Accord collided near 115th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in South Ozone Park.
Police said the collision sent the cab onto the sidewalk, where three pedestrians were hit. The city crash record lists one pedestrian killed and two pedestrians injured.
Vidya Dookran-Franco died at the hospital
Police identified the woman killed as Vidya Dookran-Franco, 51, of Merrick. She and two men, ages 44 and 49, were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where Dookran-Franco died; the men survived with injuries described as minor or stable in the press accounts.
Lefferts Boulevard has a recent record of serious harm
The collision was recorded at Lefferts Boulevard and 115th Avenue in Queens, in the South Ozone Park area identified by the police accounts.
CrashCountNYC location context for Lefferts Boulevard in Queens shows 709 crashes, 532 injuries, 26 serious injuries and 4 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
Police reported no immediate arrests
The Daily News reported that both drivers remained at the scene. Both reviewed accounts said no arrests had been made, and the Daily News said the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad was investigating.