Driver Charged After Woman Killed in Gates Avenue Crosswalk
Police charged William Cruz after he made a left turn in a box truck and hit Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez as she crossed Gates Avenue.
What We Know
Official crash records say the driver of a 2024 Freightliner box truck was making a left turn at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn around half past 8 AM when he hit a 30-year-old woman crossing with the signal at the intersection. The records list failure to yield the right of way and driver inattention or distraction for the truck driver. News accounts identified the woman as Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez and said police later arrested and charged the driver; accounts differed on whether police described the driver as fleeing or continuing on his route before being stopped nearby.
A left turn as she crossed Gates Avenue
The official record places the crash at 8:26 a.m. on April 17, 2026, at Gates and St. Nicholas avenues in Brooklyn. It lists the pedestrian as a 30-year-old woman crossing with the signal at the intersection and lists the box-truck driver as making a left turn.
ABC7 and the Daily News identified the woman as Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez and reported that a 49-year-old man driving a 2024 Freightliner hit her while she was crossing Gates Avenue. Streetsblog and bkreader, citing police, reported that the driver was northbound on St. Nicholas and turned left onto Gates.
Sanchez suffered severe head and body injuries and was taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where she died, according to the Daily News and Streetsblog.
Gates Avenue has a long crash record
The crash happened at Gates Avenue and St. Nicholas Avenue in Brooklyn, near the Brooklyn-Queens border. Streetsblog described the area as the Brooklyn portion of Ridgewood and noted the narrow, two-way character of St. Nicholas Avenue.
CrashCountNYC's location context for Gates Avenue in Brooklyn shows 748 crashes, 422 injuries, 26 serious injuries and 2 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez was on her way to work
Sources gave different ages for Sanchez: ABC7 and bkreader reported 29, the official crash record and a later Daily News article reported 30, and an earlier Daily News article reported 32.
Records and charges focused on yielding and due care
The official vehicle record lists failure to yield right-of-way and driver inattention or distraction for the box-truck driver. It also lists the driver as licensed in New Jersey and the box truck as a 2024 Freightliner.
Press accounts differed on what happened after impact
Streetsblog reported on the day of the crash that police said the driver fled. The Daily News later reported that police said the driver continued on his route and was stopped about a block away, and that investigators believed he did not realize he had hit Sanchez.
Earlier ABC7 coverage reported no arrests while the investigation was continuing. The Daily News later reported Cruz's arrest and charges.