Deadly Hit-and-Run at Union Square

A truck struck and killed a 21-year-old woman crossing the street at Union Square early this morning and then fled the scene, the police said.

The truck was traveling eastbound on East 14th Street at around 1:15 a.m. when it made the turn onto Broadway and hit the victim, who was crossing Broadway, according to the police. The name of the victim, who was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital, has not yet been released. The police have not made any arrests for the incident.

In an example of particularly grim timing, a new short video by Karen Loew, who lives near East 14th Street, highlights the particularly dangerous intersection with First Avenue, only three blocks away from the fatal accident.

“I would say it’s probably one of the more challenging intersections in my whole council district because of the traffic flow, the left-hand turn, and the fact that there is just so much going on,” Councilman Dan Garodnick says in the video.

According to the video, the average intersection in Manhattan saw 2.6 crashes per year from 2007 to 2010. At First Avenue and East 14th Street there were 12 crashes during that same span.