Police: 16-Year-Old Girl Killed In Queens Hit-And-Run
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The search continues for the driver who hit and killed a 16-year-old girl as she tried to cross the street in Queens.
It happened around 12:15 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Francis Lewis Boulevard and Sunrise Highway in Rosedale.
The teen was trying to cross Sunrise Highway in the crosswalk when she was hit by a dark-colored van. The van then fled the scene, police said.
The girl was found unconscious and unresponsive in the roadway. She was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Krystina Tucker and her 5-year-old daughter cross there almost every day, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
"I've had a couple incidents where I'm almost hit walking with her to school," Tucker said.
"They just fly around it [the turn] ... there's cars stopped at the light, they don't want to wait."
The speed limit along the stretch of Francis Lewis Boulevard is 25 miles per hour, and on Sunrise Highway it's 40 miles per hour, Burrell reported.
However, pedestrians like Jean Charles say people often drive much faster.
"You have to stop and look around otherwise to cross someone is going to kill you," Charles said.
Even with the crossing light, residents say getting across the four lanes of traffic and the median can be difficult.
"Because it's so wide, by the time you reach halfway in the road the light's amber so you have to run to get across," said Shelline McCook.
Police have put up an electronic sign with information about the hit and run hoping to locate the driver responsible, Burrell reported.
The teen's name has not been released.
