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Driver Backing Into Crosswalk Kills Upper East Side Grandmother
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 22, 2016
Modified Sep 22, 2016
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 22, 2016
Modified Sep 22, 2016
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Police have yet to file charges against an oblivious driver who backed into a crosswalk and killed an elderly Upper East Side resident on Saturday morning. Police say 83-year-old Lee Strong was in the crosswalk on the southwest corner of Third Avenue and East 71st Street at about 10:40 a.m. on September 17th when the driver of a Chevrolet Traverse stopped in the far left lane of Third Avenue and then backed into her.
Investigators say he was trying to back up into a parking spot.
Lee was knocked to the street, where first responders found her lying unconscious and unresponsive with head trauma. She was taken to Cornell Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on Sunday.
The 41-year-old male driver remained at the scene and has not been charged or named by police, but the NYPD says the investigation is "ongoing." If the preliminary account of the NYPD is accurate, it appears the driver could be charged under New York's "Right of Way" law (Despite a judge's ruling that it was unconstitutional in June, the de Blasio administration has said it will continue to enforce it.)
An online obituary for Lee describes her as "a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister and aunt, gracious, loving and charming to all who met or knew her." Born in Chicago in 1933, Lee graduated from Francis W. Parker School and Wellesley College, and according to the obituary "embarked on a 60+ year love affair with her husband, Roger L. Strong."
The obituary also notes that Lee "loved tennis and Barbra Streisand, Paris and Phoenix, beaches and lakes, Book Group and the National Enquirer, pizza and Jujyfruits, but nothing could compare with her love for her family. She already is missed beyond words."
Tagged
cis
failure to yield
reckless driving
right of way
original
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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