A beloved Southeast Queens community leader was struck and killed by the driver of a yellow cab in a chain-reaction crash in South Ozone Park during the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 28.
Vidya Dookran-Franco, 51, of Merrick, was picking up food to bring home to her family and was walking on the sidewalk with two men who worked at a nearby restaurant who were escorting her back to her car. As they approached the intersection of Lefferts Boulevard and 115th Avenue at 3:10 a.m. a taxi driver struck another vehicle and jumped the curb and hit the three pedestrians on the sidewalk, police said Sunday.
Officers from the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park responded to a 911 call of a vehicle collision and found Dookran-Franco pinned between the yellow cab and a fence with severe trauma to her body near the two injured men.
EMS rushed all three to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where Dookran-Franco succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead a short while later. Both men, aged 49 and 44, suffered minor injuries and were listed in stable condition.
A preliminary investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined that the 23-year-old cab driver was behind the wheel of a 2023 Toyota Rav4 traveling eastbound on 115th Avenue when he slammed into a 2017 Honda Accord driven by a 25-year-old man who was heading northbound on Lefferts Boulevard. After the initial impact, the Toyota mounted the northeast curb and struck the three victims.
Both drivers remained at the scene and were not injured during the collision. No arrests have been made, and the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad’s investigation remains ongoing.
The victim remained a beloved figure in Southeast Queens after moving her family to Long Island. She was known locally as Joann Franco, who had a knack for connecting people to city services and was always greeted with hugs and warm handshakes from elected officials from both political parties, according to her family.
State Senator Leroy Comrie took to social media to offer his condolences to her loved ones and the Southeast Queens community who are mourning her death.
“I was deeply saddened to hear about the tragic loss of community leader, student advocate, and incredibly sweet and sincere person, Joann Franco,” Comrie said in a statement. “To our neighbors in the school and Chamber of Commerce communities that worked closely with her, please accept my heartfelt condolences during this incredibly difficult time.”
Comrie added that his thoughts and prayers were with her husband and daughters.
“To her family, please know Joann will always be remembered for her personal qualities, such as her kindness, warmth, and her tenacity to see the wrongs in the world corrected,” Comrie continued. “Her loss is profoundly felt by everyone who knew her.”
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams echoed that sentiment in her post on social media.
“Our community is absolutely heartbroken and devastated by the tragic death of our beloved community servant Joann Franco, who was killed in a fatal crash this weekend,” Adams said. “Joann was dedicated to improving our Southeast Queens neighborhoods, and her daughter interned with my office last summer. My heart is with her family and loved ones during this difficult time. Rest in peace, beautiful Joann.
