The victim, Michael Munoz, was struck on the Whitestone Expressway Service Road and 20th Avenue at around 2:15 p.m. while selling water.
Eyewitness News has learned that Munoz sold water not just from the sidewalk, but also from right on the service road.
It's not yet known if the victim was in the road or on the sidewalk at the time of the crash.
The 78-year-old driver was in a black Toyota Camry when investigators say for one reason or another, the driver lost control of the vehicle and slammed into Munoz and a steel post that holds a gate entering a corporate plaza.
The car hit with such force that it nearly pushed the post out of the asphalt.
The driver, his female passenger, and Munoz were all rushed to New York Hospital in Queens where the pedestrian was pronounced dead.
No charges are expected to be filed.
The victim's brother says their mother was hit and killed by a car a few years ago.
"I'm angry but that's not gonna do nothing, I'm more sad because I'm not going to see my brother again," said Raphael Munoz. "We were just making plans to go see my mother at the graveyard."
It's still not clear why the driver lost control of the vehicle.
