Jul. 23, 2023 By Ben Brachfeld
A 76-year-old woman died Saturday after suffering an apparent medical episode behind the wheel of her car and crashing into a wall.
Police say Winsome Rose was driving her car near her home on 112th Avenue in Queens Village when, at the intersection with Cross Island Parkway near the Nassau County border, she suffered a medical episode of an unclear nature, causing her to careen into a nearby wall.
Cops discovered Rose with severe trauma to her head and torso. She was rushed by EMS to North Shore University Hospital in Nassau County, but could not be saved.
No other injuries were reported in the incident, nor were any other vehicles damaged. The crash remains under investigation.
The city has recorded 124 deaths in traffic collisions as of July 16, slightly below the 132 recorded in the same time period last year, according to NYPD data.
But fatal crashes have shot up significantly in Queens. The World’s Borough has seen 45 fatalities in collisions in the first half of 2023, a more than 60% jump over last year, according to the NYPD. The numbers in Queens are the highest since the city adopted Vision Zero in 2014, according to advocacy group Transportation Alternatives.
In a report released last week, the group reported that Queens had more deaths on streets with speed limits above 25 miles per hour than the other four boroughs combined this year, and as many deaths from curb jumps — like the one which killed 19-year-old Ava Conklin at a Rockaway bus stop — as the other four boroughs combined. All five crashes that resulted in a child’s death so far this year have occurred in Queens.