Ambulance Driver Fatally Hits Woman Crossing in Midwood
City records say a driver in an ambulance failed to yield to a 44-year-old woman crossing with the signal at Ocean Avenue and Avenue O; news reports identified her as Cherry Cayetano Sobel and said Maimonides suspended involved EMT staff.
What We Know
Cherry Cayetano Sobel, a 44-year-old Brooklyn resident, was crossing at Ocean Avenue and Avenue O on April 2 when a driver in a Maimonides Medical Center ambulance made a left turn and hit her. The city crash record says the pedestrian was crossing with the signal and lists failure to yield right of way for the ambulance driver. Police and news reports said the driver continued down Ocean Avenue after the crash; ABC7 and the Post reported detectives believed the driver may not have realized a person had been hit. Maimonides said EMT staff involved were suspended while NYPD investigated. Sobel was taken to Maimonides, where she died.
A left turn at dawn
The crash happened at about 6:36 a.m. on April 2, 2026. The city crash record says a licensed male driver in a 2013 Ford ambulance was making a left turn and failed to yield right of way. The pedestrian, a 44-year-old woman, was crossing with the signal at the intersection and was killed.
News reports said the driver was turning from Avenue O onto Ocean Avenue in Midwood in an ambulance operated by Maimonides Medical Center. Sobel was taken to Maimonides, where she was pronounced dead.
Cherry Cayetano Sobel was on a familiar route
Police identified the woman who died as Cherry Cayetano Sobel, 44, of Brooklyn. The Daily News reported that a family friend described Sobel as a registered nurse and mother of two.
The Post reported that Sobel was on her way to work and quoted her husband, Jeff Sobel, saying she had taken that route many times.
Ocean Avenue has a long crash history
The crash happened at Ocean Avenue and Avenue O in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC’s location context for Ocean Avenue in Brooklyn shows 1,188 crashes, 965 injuries, 63 serious injuries and 4 deaths since 2022.
That history places Sobel’s death on a corridor where many crashes and injuries were already documented before this fatal turn.
Investigators focused on the driver and crew
Police and news reports said the driver continued after hitting Sobel. ABC7 and the Post reported detectives believed the driver likely did not realize a person had been hit, while police were still seeking to speak with the driver.
Maimonides Medical Center said EMT staff involved in the incident were suspended pending the NYPD investigation. ABC7 reported no charges had been filed as of April 4.