Hit-and-run in Midtown Manhattan kills tourist; van with 'TIMES SQUARE' plate flees scene
A couple visiting from Hamburg, Germany, was struck near East 40th Street and Fifth Avenue; one person died and the other was hospitalized as police investigate.
A hit-and-run in Midtown Manhattan left a woman dead and a man hospitalized after a vehicle struck them and fled on East 40th Street near Fifth Avenue, police said. The crash occurred just before 2:40 p.m. Wednesday, authorities reported. A van bearing a vanity plate reading 'TIMES SQUARE' struck a 50-year-old woman and her 55-year-old husband, who were visiting from Hamburg, Germany. The vehicle did not remain at the scene.
EMS pronounced the woman dead at the scene; the man was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, according to the NYPD. The incident is under investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad, and there have been no arrests. The identities of the deceased are pending family notification, police said.
Eyewitness Rosa Paredes, who was working at an ice cream truck nearby, said the van sped away after striking the couple and that the driver reversed, trapping the woman under the vehicle. "As he was reversing, the woman was under the van. The man was stuck under the tire. He got himself out," she said.
Another witness, Houssaim Coly, described the crash as 'a terrible accident.' One of the suspected vehicles has been described as a Toyota Sienna minivan, according to witnesses.
Police described the vehicles only in part and said the investigation remains ongoing. No arrests have been announced, and the identity of the deceased is pending family notification. The crash occurred in a busy Midtown corridor along East 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, an area with heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Authorities urged anyone with information to contact the NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad. The investigation is ongoing.
