Drivers Fatally Hit 90-Year-Old Woman on York Avenue
A 68-year-old cab driver hit 90-year-old Frances Rickard at York Avenue and East 72nd Street around 5:40 p.m., and a second driver also hit her before she died at Weill Cornell, according to police details reported by the Post and the city crash record.
What We Know
According to the police report, a 90-year-old woman crossing York Avenue near East 72nd Street was first hit by a southbound taxi driver and then run over by a southbound SUV driver on a below-freezing Wednesday afternoon. The pedestrian was crossing midblock without a signal or crosswalk. Police recorded driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. The woman suffered crush injuries to her head and was killed at the scene.
What police and city records say happened
The city crash record says one pedestrian, a 90-year-old woman, was killed in the February 5, 2025 collision at York Avenue and East 72nd Street. The New York Post, citing police and sources, identified her as Frances Rickard and reported that she was crossing the street when a 68-year-old man driving a cab hit her. Police said a 35-year-old woman driving a 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer also hit her moments later.
Rickard was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she died, the Post reported. The official record lists no other injuries.
York Avenue has seen repeated severe crashes
The crash happened at York Avenue and East 72nd Street on the Upper East Side. CrashCountNYC location context for York Avenue in Manhattan counts 396 crashes, 158 injuries, 15 serious injuries and 5 deaths since 2022.
Frances Rickard and the drivers
The Post identified the woman killed as Frances Rickard, 90, and reported that she lived on the Upper West Side. The city record lists the person killed as a 90-year-old female pedestrian.
Police said both drivers remained at the scene, and the Post reported that neither driver had been charged in connection with the fatal collision at the time of its report.
The taxi account differs from the official movement entry
The official record identifies a taxi and a 2023 Chevrolet SUV as involved, with both drivers traveling south before the crash. The Post described the cab as a yellow taxi and the second driver’s vehicle as a 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer.
The official vehicle entries say both drivers were going straight before the crash. The Post, citing police and sources, reported that the cab driver made a U-turn before hitting Rickard.