Brooklyn detectives arrested the alleged hit-and-run driver who mowed down a woman as she crossed a borough street with her daughter in May.
Robert Matthews, 26, of 400 Schenck Ave. in Brooklyn, was arrested on July 22 at around 7:45 a.m. within the 83rd Precinct after police say his vehicle, a 2024 Mazda CX-5, struck and killed 71-year-old Juanita Vidal, who was crossing the street with her daughter at the intersection of Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick on May 9 at around 5 p.m.
According to law enforcement sources, a marked NYPD assigned to the 83rd Precinct was attempting to pull over the Mazda when it fled northbound on Eldert Street from Wilson Avenue, going fast in an attempt to evade police.
Authorities said the Mazda then zipped through two stop signs at the intersection of Eldert Street and Knickerbocker Avenue, and swerved to avoid colliding with another car. While the reckless driving ensued, police noted, the Mazda then hit Vidal and her 44-year-old daughter as they attempted to cross Eldert Street.
The mayhem continued as the Mazda then struck the back of a parked and unoccupied Chevrolet van, pushing it into yet another parked and unoccupied vehicle, a 2011 Honda Fit.
At this point, police said the suspect — Matthews — fled the scene on foot, leaving the Mazda behind.
EMS responded and rushed Vidal to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Her daughter was brought to NYC Health and Hospitals/Elmhurst in critical but stable condition.
Matthews faces a slew of charges, including second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle and leaving an accident resulting in death.
