Turning driver kills Yvette James on Brooklyn sidewalk
When the Delivery Came
A woman driving a Lexus RX 350 went onto the sidewalk near Rutland Road and East 92nd Street on Friday afternoon and killed Yvette James, a food-pantry volunteer whom police identified as 79, according to news reports.
Reported by press, not yet linked to NYC police crash records. This may change when new official records become available or when matching details are reviewed.
Reported intersection.
What We Know
News reports say a woman driving a Lexus RX 350 made a right turn near Rutland Road and East 92nd Street on Friday afternoon, went onto the sidewalk and killed Yvette James. Police later identified James as 79; some early reports described her as 80. Several outlets, citing police, said the turn was from Rutland Road onto East 92nd Street, while the Daily News reported the opposite direction. Witnesses said James was pinned against a building wall and described screaming after a loud impact. Reporters at the scene said relatives, friends and neighbors knew James from the block and from a nearby Church of God food pantry. Police said the driver remained at the scene; multiple reports said she had not been charged as the investigation continued.
A right turn carried onto the sidewalk
Police told reporters that the driver was making a right turn in a Lexus RX 350 when she went onto the sidewalk. The New York Post, ABC7, CBS and News 12 reported the turn as Rutland Road onto East 92nd Street; the Daily News reported East 92nd Street onto Rutland Road. News 12 later described the driver's right turn as too wide.
ABC7 said police reported that the driver hit a sign before James; CBS said police reported that the driver hit a street planter and James, and that the collision involved a building. Witnesses told ABC7, CBS and the Daily News that James was pinned against a wall. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Reports placed the crash at Rutland Road and East 92nd Street
Reports placed the fatal crash near Rutland Road and East 92nd Street in Brooklyn. The New York Post, ABC7, CBS and later News 12 coverage described the area as East Flatbush; earlier News 12 coverage called it Brownsville.
A witness quoted by the Post described the corner as a place where drivers try to catch the light, saying, "They come around this corner fast a lot."
Yvette James was remembered as a neighbor who fed people
News 12 and ABC7 reported that police identified the woman who died as Yvette James. Reports differed on her age: ABC7, CBS and later News 12 coverage described her as 79, while the Post and earlier News 12 versions described her as 80.
Friends and family members told reporters James lived just down the block or about a block from the crash site. Neighbors and church members described her as a longtime food-pantry volunteer at a nearby Church of God. Akeem Adams told News 12, "It's a big loss because she helps everybody around here."
Reporters documented a damaged Lexus RX 350 on the sidewalk
Police and reporters identified the driver's vehicle as a Lexus RX 350. News 12 cameras showed a damaged white Lexus on the sidewalk, and the Post described a broken bumper, pieces of concrete and shreds of a torn-up tree along the pavement.
Witnesses focused on speed while police continued investigating
Witness accounts focused on speed and the turn. ABC7 reported that witnesses said the driver was speeding; the Daily News cited a witness who said the speeding driver lost control and mounted the curb. News 12 later reported that police described the driver's right turn as too wide, while also saying investigators were still determining what led to the crash.
The driver remained at the scene and had not been charged
Police told reporters the driver remained at the scene. Reports differed on whether she was 62 or 63; CBS described her as a woman in her 60s. ABC7 and the Daily News reported that she was taken to a hospital, and multiple reports said no charges had been filed as the investigation continued.