Aniya Blandon Brooklyn woman killed in hit and run crash while waiting at Crown Heights bus stop with her husband. Driver wanted.
A 20 year old woman was killed and her 23 year old man hurt in a hit and run in Crown Heights, Brooklyn when a speeding car plowed into them as they waited for the B46 bus early Monday morning. Police now seek the driver’s whereabouts after fleeing the crime scene.
The NYPD identified Aniya Blandon, as the fatal victim. The 23-year-old man who was hurt while also waiting at the bus stop was identified as the woman’s husband, Kevon Westley. He was rushed to the hospital in stable condition.
A smashed up red Dodge Charger could be seen at the intersection of Utica Avenue and Eastern Parkway where the early Monday morning incident happened.
Officers say around 3 a.m., it was one of three cars driving at a high rate of speed, when one lost control, and crashed into two bystanders waiting at a bus stop.
Police say the driver may have been drag racing.
‘I saw her before she died. She breathed her last breath.’
‘We were laughing and joking at the bus stop. I was giving her hugs and kisses. The first car passed, and then the other hit a bump and drifted. I pushed her out of the way,’ Kevon Westley told the nydailynews.
‘I wanted to take the first hit,’ the heart broken husband added. ‘I thought she was saved.’
Westley said he blacked out after that. He suffered a concussion and injuries to his foot, arm and leg.
‘I woke up in the ambulance,’ he said. ‘I saw her before she died. She breathed her last breath.’
Blandon was a student at Borough of Manhattan Community College and planned to graduate in 2022, according to a LinkedIn profile.
The incident left the local community stymied and confused.
‘This could have been avoided. These youth are just reckless sometimes. It’s a sad day today for me and for this community,’ a resident told CBSNY.
Investigators describe the two other speeding cars as black and silver sedans. They say the driver of the Charger got out of the car and hopped into one of those vehicles, and took off.
‘That’s disgraceful,’ said another resident. ‘And then to run, that’s even worse. Not even stay to be responsible for what you did.’
‘Do the right thing. Not to be going crazy and thinking the streets belong to you,’ resident Ana Buendia added according to CBSNY. ‘When you take your own freedom, you’re taking somebody else’s freedom away.’
‘I want to say to him that he should turn himself in,’
Police say they believe the drivers of the three vehicles may have been racing. Residents told Duddridge they see vehicles driving recklessly late at night in the neighborhood all the time.
‘We just have to educate people and pray and hope that these young men understand the dangers of drag racing in the streets, because people could be crossing the street,’ Burchell M. Marcus said.
Once caught, police say the driver will face a long list of charges, including leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
Community activist Burchell Marcus called on the wanted driver to come forward.
‘I want to say to him that he should turn himself in,’ he said according to ABC 7 New York. ‘You know you did something wrong. Stand up and face the music.’
Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to the NYPDTips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
