A woman killed by a speeding hit-and-run Cadillac driver in Brooklyn was a nurse leaving work after an overnight shift — only to be rushed back to the same hospital after she was struck, authorities said Sunday.
Jiayi Zheng only made it a block from NYU Langone-Brooklyn when she was mowed down in the crosswalk on Third Ave. at 55th St. in Sunset Park about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, police said.
Surveillance footage viewed by the Daily News shows Zheng, 28, wearing her hospital scrubs and a large backpack, patiently waiting at the intersection for the light to turn before entering the crosswalk.
Surveillance footage shows victim Jiayi Zheng walking in the crosswalk on Third Ave. at 55th St. in Sunset Park just before being fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver. (Obtained by NYDN)
She makes it halfway across the street, past the median under the Gowanus Expressway, when the Cadillac Escalade driver barrels into her, apparently not slowing before impact.
The crash sends her flying, with the Escalade driver briefly tapping the brakes before continuing south on Third Ave., the video shows.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates the fatal hit-and-run on Third Ave. in Sunset Park on Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
“The lady was waiting at the light and somebody come in the car and hit her. They were speeding,” said a worker at the nearby Mendez Deli who didn’t give her name.
“I opened the store and I had customers waiting and they heard someone got into an accident. When my customer step out they saw the lady in the street and we called 911.”
The worker then stepped out and saw the victim crumpled in the street.
“I feel so bad,” she said. “I couldn’t handle seeing that. It was very bad.”
Medics rushed Zheng back to NYU-Langone Brooklyn with severe head and body trauma, where she died, cops said.
The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates the fatal hit-and-run on Third Ave. in Sunset Park on Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The driver has not been caught.
“This is a tragic loss, and we extend our sincere condolences to her family, loved ones, and colleagues,” said hospital spokesman James Iorio. “Our nurses play an essential role in caring for others with compassion and dedication, and this loss is being felt across our entire community.”
Zheng lived about a mile from the hospital, according to cops.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News
The NYPD Highway Patrol investigates the fatal hit-and-run on Third Ave. in Sunset Park on Saturday. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes tweeted Saturday that the driver blew through a red light and didn’t stop after hitting her.
“The victim, a nurse coming off the night shift, has passed from her injuries,” he wrote on X. “Please keep her in your prayers.”
The deli worker said that drivers in the area often ignore the traffic light and road signs.
“People have no control. The driving, maybe they drink and speed or maybe some health problem but you never know,” she said. “The car was flying. You see how he hit her … I feel bad for her family and people in the neighborhood,”
“They need security cameras because you have signs that say don’t turn and they turn,” she added. “People don’t have respect for the light.”
Last month, the Mamdani administration announced that pedestrian fatalities citywide for the first half of the year were near historic lows.
Through June 29, there were 94 traffic fatalities in New York City, including 46 pedestrians killed compared to 53 during the same period last year, a 13% decline. It was the least amount of pedestrians killed during that time frame since the city started keeping accurate stats except for the first half o 2020 when the COVID pandemic kept many people indoors.