By Tom Tracy
Two seniors were killed in separate car accidents that took place just two blocks away from each other, cops said this week. Officials said that one person had been arrested in the weekend of carnage – for allegedly fleeing the scene of an accident without stopping. Witnesses told cops that Francisco Guerrero, 73, was crossing Fourth Avenue at 52nd Street at 3:30 p.m. on December 28 when he was struck by a passing 1997 Dodge Caravan. The driver of the Caravan was allegedly making a U-turn from Fourth Avenue’s southbound lanes to the northbound lanes when the van struck the senior, who died of his injuries at Lutheran Medical Center. Officials alleged that the Caravan never stopped, but was quickly brought to a halt by officers responding to the scene. The driver, identified as Sands Street resident Lawrence Myers, was taken into custody and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, reckless endangerment and for making an illegal U-turn. Police said that on December 30, two days after Guerrero’s death, 65-year-old Barbara Tjornhom was struck down by a passing livery cab as it made a left turn at the corner of 52nd Street and Sixth Avenue. Tjornhom was on her way home from church when the car ran into her, her bereaved husband told reporters. Tjornhom was rushed to Lutheran Medical Center following the 10:30 a.m. accident, but died of her injuries, officials said. The livery cab driver who hit her remained at the scene. No charges had been filed against him as this paper went to press.
