A 49-year-old woman was killed Saturday crossing Lefferts Boulevard in Kew Gardens after she was struck by a yellow bus taking passengers between the Forest Hills and Kew Gardens stations on the Long Island Rail Road, police said.
The victim, identified as Alice Chow, 49, of Flushing, was crossing Lefferts Boulevard at Austin Street around 12:58 p.m. Saturday when the bus made a left turn from Austin to go north on Lefferts, police said. She was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to police.
A police source at the scene said the driver, whose name was not released, was issued a summons for failure to yield. No criminal charges were filed. The bus, operated by private contractor Ronkonkoma, L.I.-based Acme Bus Corp., was shuttling between Forest Hills and Kew Gardens because the MTA was working on the track, officials said.
LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto said the railroad was not aware of any other accidents involving the bus line.
Several people in the neighborhood said the intersection was dangerous and had been the site of other serious accidents.
"The lights change very fast here," said Katryna Kruczko, who lives a few blocks away. "Every day I'm passing here - my God, you have no idea," she said.
Kruczko and others said that drivers often speed up to try to beat the light at the intersection, putting pedestrians in danger.
Traffic was blocked from Lefferts in each direction for several hours after the crash. Officials were seen testing the breaks on the small yellow school bus involved in the incident.
Chow's death was one of three fatal pedestrian crashes across the city Saturday - two other people were killed in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Following the bloody day, a pedestrian rights group held a previously scheduled news conference at City Hall Sunday to call for greater safety improvements at dangerous intersections.
Transportation Alternatives, a group that advocates for pedestrians and cyclists, said that intersections like the one where Chow was killed should have "leading pedestrian intervals," meaning that traffic in both directions would be stopped to give walkers a chance to begin crossing, so they could enter the crosswalk before turning vehicles.
According to a map on the Transportation Alternatives Website, five people were hit by vehicles at the intersection of Austin Street and Lefferts Boulevard between 1995 and 2001, including one who died. The map is based on data from the state Department of Transportation, the group said.
