Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez, 32, was killed in a pedestrian accident in Queens, which officials said, involved a suspected hit and run driver. According to a report in the New York Daily News, the woman had just dropped off her 6-year-old daughter at school and was walking in the crosswalk on Gates Avenue at St. Nicholas Avenue in Ridgewood the morning of April 17 when she was struck by a large truck that was making a left turn.
Police said the driver of the truck, later identified as a 49-year-old man, did not stop at the scene. Chacho Sanchez, reportedly an immigrant from Ecuador, suffered severe head and body trauma and was transported to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center where she died from her injuries. The driver has not been charged yet pending an official investigation. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Chacho Sanchez for their tragic and heartbreaking loss.
Crosswalk Pedestrian Accidents and Hit-and-Run Collisions
In New York City, pedestrian crosswalk laws prioritize safety and clearly define who has the right of way. Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, drivers must yield to pedestrians crossing within both marked and unmarked crosswalks at intersections. When a “WALK” signal is displayed, pedestrians have the legal right to cross, and vehicles must remain stopped until they have safely passed. New York City also enforces the Right-of-Way Law and imposes penalties when a driver injures a pedestrian while failing to yield. These laws collectively emphasize driver responsibility and provide strong protections for pedestrians.
New York laws also require drivers involved in any accident to stop, provide identification and report the incident if there is injury, death or significant property damage. Leaving the scene without doing so is a criminal offense. If the accident involves only property damage, fleeing can result in misdemeanor charges, fines and possible license suspension. However, if a pedestrian or another person is injured, leaving the scene becomes a more serious crime, potentially leading to felony charges, higher fines and even imprisonment. Drivers are also required to notify police promptly when injuries occur. Failure to report can lead to additional penalties.
In a hit-and-run collision, the driver and vehicle owner are both responsible parties even if the owner was not driving when the accident occurred. If the driver was on the job and/or operating a company vehicle at the time, his or her employer can also be held liable.
Such drivers can be held financially responsible whether or not they are arrested and/or charged. If a hit-and-run driver has injured you, please remember that you can seek compensation through the uninsured motorist clause of your auto insurance policy (even though the driver has not been identified) or through a quasi-state agency if there is no motor vehicle in the victim’s household. You should consult a personal injury lawyer immediately to protect your rights.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a bicycle accident or pedestrian accident, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent (careless) driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators, or adjusters.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should remember that they can seek compensation for injuries or losses in collisions even if the victim was not walking in a marked crosswalk and even if the driver involved in collision was not charged. Our law firm recovered the full one-million-dollar insurance policy for a girl who was not in the crosswalk when a motor vehicle hit her.
For over 54 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. We also recovered $1,500,000 for a lady who was hurt by a bus, although there was only a 1 million dollar insurance policy and we got $500,000 above that insurance policy.
We also obtained $295,000 out of a $300,000 insurance policy in compensation for the victim of a bicycle dooring accident (where a car door opens into the path of a bicyclist). One of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases. Also, we got a $1,400,000 verdict in a motorcycle accident.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning, paraplegia cases and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/04/19/queens-woman-killed-by-box-truck-driver-had-just-dropped-6-year-old-daughter-at-school/