It happened just before 1:30 p.m. on Rutland Road in East Flatbush.
Police say a 62-year-old woman driving a Lexus RX 350 was making a right turn onto E. 92nd Street from Rutland Road when she struck a sign and then the woman on the sidewalk.
Witnesses said the driver was speeding when the SUV pinned the victim against a wall. The collision left giant scratch marks on the wall
The impact of the crash apparently deployed the airbags, and left the front of the SUV with serious damage.
Residents described the horrific sound of the collision.
"I just heard the screeching from the building, and was I coming downstairs to run to the store," one woman said. "Someone said to me that a car hit someone on the sidewalk. The person's pinned up against the wall, between the car and the wall. It's scary. Very scary."
"It was just sudden and loud. Big," one man said. "People started screaming and running, and stuff like that. Some people ran, but as they got to the scene and saw what was going on, there was nothing that you could really do."
The victim, identified as Yvette James, was pronounced dead.
Her grieving family declined to comment as they collected her personal belongings.
Her friends say she was a block from home and sitting on a planter, as she often does for rest when the SUV slammed into her.
"Scooped Ms. Yvette under the car and just dragged her," said James' friend Smiley Adams.
The pastor of James' church, across the street from her home, says she volunteered at its food pantry. Since 1998, no matter what time or day, she was always there.
"A lot of people knew her," said James' friend, pastor Duvil Baujour. "Because she was always the one to distribute food. She had established it on Wednesday to do it and on Saturday she's there to control the crowd."
The driver of the SUV was rushed to the hospital.
She has not been charged and the investigation remains ongoing.
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