BY SAM SPOKONY | Two people were killed in recent weeks after being hit by motor vehicles in the Downtown area, police said.
On the afternoon of Nov. 22, a Harlem man, Cheikh Mbaye, was crossing Canal St. near Greene St., when he was struck by a westbound Ford Econoline van. The impact threw Mbaye, 23, into the middle of the street, where a westbound tractor-trailer also hit him, police said.
When cops arrived on the scene around 2:30 p.m. after a 911 call, they found Mbaye unconscious in the street. He was rushed to New York Presbyterian / Lower Manhattan Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.
Both vehicles remained at the scene. Though an investigation is ongoing, no arrests have been made and no criminality is suspected, police said. Police believe Mbaye was crossing Canal St. midblock, not at a crosswalk.
Less than a week later, on the evening of Nov. 27, Stella Huang, 88, was killed after she was hit by a Con Edison truck at the intersection of E. 16th St. and Avenue C, police said.
Huang lived at 271 Avenue C in Stuyvesant Town — steps away from the site of the incident.
Following an investigation, police determined the Con Ed truck was turning left onto E. 16th St. when it struck Huang as she was crossing Avenue C.
Police arrived around 5:15 p.m. after receiving a 911 call and found the elderly woman unconscious on the ground. She was pronounced dead on arrival after being rushed to Bellevue Hospital.
The Con Ed truck stayed at the scene, and no arrests were made, police said, although an investigation is ongoing.
“We are cooperating fully with the N.Y.P.D. in their investigation of this tragic accident,” said a Dec. 2 e-mailed statement from Con Ed. “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Stella Huang.”
