See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Max Jaeger
Brooklyn Daily
An elderly woman is dead after a sport utility vehicle struck her on the sidewalk while attempting to parallel park near a school in Sheepshead Bay Tuesday.
Police identified the victim as Marlene Baharlias, 77, and eyewitnesses say she was strolling with a loved one along E. 19th Street between avenues T and U when the car lurched onto the sidewalk and struck her on March 18.
“She was walking on the sidewalk with her husband, the poor woman,” said Shlomo Hava, a neighbor who saw the accident unfold.
Hava said he wanted to help, but seeing her injuries, he knew there was little he could do.
“All her face was smashed — I was shocked,” he said.
Baharlias was hit at 2:21 pm, police say — just as school was letting out.
Locals said the end of the school day may have contributed to the fatal accident. Parents jockey for the position when picking up their kids, sometimes double- or triple- parking, one neighbor said.
“If you see a spot, its like a race to see who can get that spot,” said William Perry, who lives on the block. “Its just an accident waiting to happen.”
Paramedics rushed Baharlias to Coney Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival, officials said.
Witnesses said the driver remained at the scene and was the first on the phone to 911.
No charges have been filed, but the investigation is ongoing, according to police.