A mother and her three kids were walking through a busy Brooklyn intersection when a car crash nearby sent one of the vehicles into the crosswalk, striking and killing the woman and her two young girls, police said Saturday.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said a 32-year-old driver behind the wheel of an Audi that struck the woman and her kids had a suspended license. As of an afternoon press conference, Tisch said investigators were still working to determine if the woman had blown through a red light and what speed she was traveling at the time.
The crash happened in Midwood around 1 p.m., at the height of the hottest day of the year. Police said the family had been walking through the crosswalk at Ocean Parkway and Quentin Road when the Audi driver struck the back bumper of a Toyota Camry whose driver was attempting to turn onto the parkway.
The force of the crash knocked the Camry to the side, police explained, but the Audi kept moving through the intersection and into the crosswalk where the family was walking.
Tisch said the Audi barreled into the 34-year-old and her three kids. Two girls, ages 5 and 8, were also pronounced dead; a 4-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition.
The 32-year-old Audi driver had to be extricated from her car after it flipped over and came to a stop down the block. The female driver was also hospitalized, but her injuries were not life-threatening.
"I will call it like it is, this was a horrific tragedy caused by someone who shouldn't have been on the road," Tisch said at a press conference four hours after the crash.
Preliminary breath tests were administered at the scene, Tisch confirmed.
Transportation Alternatives released a statement condemning the Audi driver's record and urging action by New York lawmakers to pass legislation in Albany that would install speed limiters on vehicles "of the most reckless repeat speeders."
The organization said the woman "was driving while on a suspended license, and the Audi she was driving has more than 90 tickets, including more than 13 school zone speeding tickets last year.”
Mayor Eric Adams joined top NYPD brass for the press conference.
“To see a mother and her two children lost to a vehicle crash is extremely concerning and painful," Adams said.
Due to a collision investigation at Quentin Road and Ocean Parkway in the @NYPD61pct, there will be road closures. Please plan accordingly if you're traveling in the area. pic.twitter.com/YXh3fTedGE
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 29, 2025
