Brooklyn nurse Jiayi Zheng killed in hit-and-run near NYU Langone; driver at large

Key points

• Jiayi Zheng, 28, was killed after being struck by a black Cadillac while crossing Third Avenue at 55th Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
• Zheng was a nurse at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn and had just finished an overnight shift; she was rushed back to the same hospital, where she died from severe head and body trauma.
• The driver fled the scene and remains at large. Police sources describe the vehicle as a 2014 Cadillac with Pennsylvania license plates.
• The crash occurred on a two-mile stretch of Third Avenue under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, where 11 pedestrians and cyclists have been killed since 2014, according to Transportation Alternatives.
• Another NYU Langone nurse, Clara Kang, was killed by a motorcyclist while biking home from an overnight shift near the same location in 2020.
• A 2023 city proposal to redesign the corridor for safety has not yet been implemented; the Mamdani administration has pledged to advance the plan in coming months.

Background

This incident follows a pattern of deadly traffic incidents on Third Avenue in Brooklyn, where advocacy groups have long called for safety improvements. A 2023 city proposal to redesign the corridor was never implemented. In 2020, another NYU Langone nurse was killed while biking home from work near the same area. The current Mamdani administration has recently highlighted a 13% decline in pedestrian fatalities citywide in the first half of 2026, but advocates argue that specific corridors like Third Avenue remain dangerously unsafe.

How outlets are covering it

All four outlets agree on the core facts: Zheng was a 28-year-old NYU Langone nurse killed in a hit-and-run on Saturday morning at 55th Street and Third Avenue, and the driver fled. ABC7 and CBS News emphasize the hospital's mourning and the ongoing investigation. The New York Daily News highlights surveillance footage showing Zheng waiting at the light and the driver speeding through a red light. The New York Post notes the vehicle had Pennsylvania plates and frames the incident as part of a broader citywide surge in hit-and-run deaths. Transportation Alternatives, cited by all outlets, stresses the failure to implement a 2023 safety redesign and the recurring fatalities on this specific corridor. State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, cited by ABC7 and the Post, calls for immediate action by the city Department of Transportation.

Why it matters

The death of a healthcare worker in the same location where another colleague died in 2020 underscores persistent safety failures on Third Avenue. It highlights the gap between city safety statistics and local realities, as well as the urgency of implementing long-delayed infrastructure changes to prevent further fatalities.

What to watch

Police are seeking information from the public to identify the driver. The city Department of Transportation has promised more information on the Third Avenue redesign in the coming months. Advocacy groups are expected to continue pressuring the Mamdani administration to fast-track safety improvements.