NYPD crash investigators pored over the scene for hours, trying to piece together the facts.
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Late Monday night, cops revealed they believe the victim, a 66-year-old woman, had been crossing First Avenue, but not in a crosswalk, when the driver of a Nissan SUV turned onto First from 84th Street and rolled right into her.
The driver stayed on the scene. Charges, for now, seem unlikely.
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The crash gave new urgency to a problem the de Blasio administration and the NYPD have been desperately trying to address.
Particularly in the 19th precinct on the Upper East Side, pedestrian fatalities have remained a persistent problem.
"These aren't numbers. These are loved ones," said Polly Trottenberg, NYC Transportation Commissioner, back in October.
Last month, authorities unveiled a new initiative called "Dusk and Darkness", to shed light on what seems obvious: That at rush hour in December, pedestrian fatalities are triple those in August, when the days are hours longer.
Tuesday, the NYPD will unveil a new system of tracking pedestrian deaths.
"I think at this point I'm kind of numb," said Robert Tse, the son of a crash victim.
For Tse, there is little hope for change. He lost his mom in a similar crash just a few blocks away from there, five years ago. He's lost all confidence the city will ever tame its streets.
"We're all going to die sooner or later; it's just a question of natural or unnatural. And I think in the City of New York, traffic death is perfectly natural," Tse said.