The 59 year old victim of a hit and run accident on Queens Boulevard died Tuesday morning after succumbing to blunt trauma head wounds suffered on the roadway the night before.

Yakub Aminov, a grandfather from Forest Hills, passed away shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday after clinging to life for nearly 14 hours at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

The Orthodox Jewish man was reportedly hurrying home from a Yom Kippur service at Congregation Beth Gabriel synagogue around 8 p.m. Monday when a silver sports utility vehicle hit him in the middle of the northern crosswalk on Queens Boulevard near 67th Avenue in Forest Hills.

Witnesses said the impact threw Aminov 3 or 4 feet into the air before leaving him unconscious on the pavement just five blocks from his home. The driver of the vehicle reportedly sped off in a westbound lane before bystanders could record a license plate number. Police said Aminov was struck while crossing against the light, which had turned green for the SUV.

"It is something I can't quite comprehend," said District Attorney Richard Brown in a public statement. "How is it that someone can hit an individual crossing the boulevard and just take off and not stop to find out what his condition is and call 911 and get an ambulance for him."

Hours before Aminov's death, police had tracked down a silver Nissan SUV, they believe is linked to the accident in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, where it was found burning early Tuesday morning. As of Wednesday morning, police had made no arrests but were questioning two people, one of whom is the registered owner of the vehicle.

Residents and business owners, meanwhile, were still shaken by the news of Aminov's death as they returned to their daily routines along the boulevard.

Anthony Spann, manager of Royal Gardens Florists at 99 21 Queens Blvd., said he had closed his store Monday night and was driving home just minutes before Aminov was fatally injured less than 20 yards from his business' front door.

"It was like 10 minutes after I left, my wife called me in the car and told me everything," Spann said inside his store Tuesday. "Absolutely tragic," he added.

Outside the flower shop, another floral bouquet was hanging on the iron pole of the intersection's traffic light - this one commemorating Sofia Leviyev, a 14 year old Forest Hills girl who was fatally injured nearly six years ago at the same spot where Aminov was struck. "The angel of Queens Boulevard," as Sofia was known to friends and family, died on Nov. 20, 2000, when she was struck by a speeding minivan while crossing against a red light at 67th Avenue.

Sofia's death was especially difficult for her family because her 62 year old uncle was killed crossing the boulevard less than a block away in 1998. The girl had been so traumatized by the event that she refused to cross the roadway by herself until a month before her fatal accident, according to news reports.

"They've got flowers out there for that poor girl, but there have been plenty of others," said a 79 year old Forest Hills woman, who lives around the corner from the intersection and would identify herself only as Annie. "I heard all the commotion out on the street (Monday night) and saw the lights from the ambulances. But it was unreal to me, because it seems like the same damn thing over and over again."

The elderly woman said she is always wary of crossing the intersection, having almost been hit several times herself, she claims, by vehicles making abrupt U turns near the concrete median in the middle of the crosswalk.

Annie is not alone in her concerns about this notorious thoroughfare. Popularly dubbed the "Boulevard of Death" or the "Boulevard of Broken Bones," Queens Boulevard has been one of the city's most dangerous roadways for pedestrians for decades, according to Transportation Alternatives, a Manhattan based nonprofit advocacy group.

The 7.1 mile boulevard, which runs across half the borough through some of its busiest neighborhoods, has been the site of thousands of accidents involving pedestrians, with an average of 10 killed each year during the 1990s. Between 1993 and 2000, the boulevard was the site of 72 pedestrian deaths and more than 2,300 injuries.

Those numbers declined substantially following a public outcry in early 2001 that prompted city officials to take more aggressive action to reduce safety risks. The city transportation department fitted intersections where fatal accidents had occurred with police surveillance cameras and signs warning, "A Pedestrian Was Killed Crossing Here."

The crossing signal time was extended from 35 to 60 seconds at most pedestrian crossings along the boulevard, which spans 12 lanes and 200 feet at its widest. The city also installed median fences and erected "No U Turn" signs.

Since that effort, fatal traffic accidents have declined, according to the advocacy group. There were four pedestrian fatalities on the boulevard in 2001, six in 2002, and six more in 2003. The fatality rate dropped to two per year in both 2004 and 2005.

But the events of Monday night showed that the safety risks have not disappeared entirely - and possibly never will.

On Tuesday afternoon, Aminov was laid to rest. Friends and neighbors joined his three sons and wife of more than 30 years in a solemn procession from Congregation Beth Gabriel down 67th Avenue toward a local cemetery. Relatives remembered Aminov, a cab driver, for his talent as a saxophone player and his undying love for his 3 month old grandson, Joshua. The Uzbekistani emigre moved to the city with his wife 15 years ago.