The accident happened around 3 p.m. Friday at 42nd Street and 47th Avenue,…
By Chris Fuchs and Betsy Scheinbart
An elderly woman was fatally struck by a school bus Friday afternoon while crossing the street in Sunnyside, the police said. None of the children on the school bus were injured.
The accident happened around 3 p.m. Friday at 42nd Street and 47th Avenue, said Detective Carolyn Chew, a police spokeswoman. The bus, which was traveling south on 42nd Street, made a left hand turn onto Greenpoint Avenue, where it struck the woman, the police said.
Tessie Nowogroska, of Sunnyside, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m., the police said. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office, said Nowogroska, 88, died of “multiple fractures and internal injuries due to blunt impact of head and torso.” She said Nowogroska’s death was ruled an accident.
The police said there were 10 children on the bus, but none of them were injured. The driver, a 42-year-old man, was not charged in the accident, said Officer Joseph Cavitolo, a police spokesman. The police said the driver is employed by the STC Bus Transportation Corporation in the Bronx.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, which regulates the operations of private bus companies, said she could not provide details of the bus company’s safety record.
Stephen Colin, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment, other than to say “it’s an unfortunate incident and obviously our feeling go out to the family of the deceased.”
Nowogroska lived on the second floor of an apartment building a few blocks north of the scene of the accident in Sunnyside. She apparently lived with a relative. Neighbors of Nowogroska’s declined to comment when asked questions about her.
The accident occurred only two blocks south of Queens Boulevard, a dangerous thoroughfare that runs across the borough from Long Island City to Jamaica.
Since 1993, 73 pedestrians have been struck and killed by cars while crossing the boulevard. Most recently, an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor was killed while crossing in Kew Gardens.
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
