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Out-Of-Control Driver Kills Woman On Brooklyn Heights Sidewalk
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 23, 2013
Modified Feb 23, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 23, 2013
Modified Feb 23, 2013
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A 48-year-old woman who had just come out of a Brooklyn Heights cafe and was standing on the sidewalk was struck by an out-of-control driver on Clinton Street near Atlantic Avenue. Martha Atwater was "barely conscience as paramedics arrived," according to WABC 7; she was later pronounced dead at Long Island College Hospital. A witness told the news station that Atwater spoke to her family while lying on the sidewalk, "A UPS man got her phone and called her family. They told them what happened."
The driver, a 53-year-old man, had been driving a Honda Ridgeline north on Clinton Street. The Post reports, "The 53-year-old driver may have lost consciousness because of his diabetes, a police source said." The manager of the Bagel Cafe says that Atwater had just stopped in to buy cookies, "She looked happy, she was smiling. She walked out. I heard a big bang and she was gone. Someone was trying to lift her head up and asking her, ‘Are you okay? Are you okay?'" Another cafe worker told the Daily News, “A woman there kept saying ‘The blood, the blood!’"
One witness, Amilie Harris, told WABC 7, "She was just mumbling and whining. There was nothing she could do it was sad. She was pinned under the car. There was no blood, nothing she could do. Her leg was caught under the tire. It was gory." Harris also spoke to NBC New York, "The truck didn't hit the building so he was able to brake at some point... I just kept telling them, 'Make sure you keep talking to her, let her know that someone's coming to help her.'"
Atwater, who lived on Remsen Street, had been vice president of programming and development for Scholastic, the children's book publisher. She won an Emmy as a writer on the show WordWorld. On her personal blog, she wrote why she'd be a great hire, in addition to her experience, "I am always serious about getting the work done, but mostly I like to make people laugh." Her husband told reporters, "I am going to pick up my kids. So please keep it cool for them."
The driver remained on the scene. The police say there is no criminality suspected.
Tagged
brooklyn
brooklyn heights
martha atwater
no criminality suspected
out of control car
pedestrian death
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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