A 28-year-old nurse was struck and killed in a hit-and-run in Brooklyn, and police are now hoping surveillance video will help track down the driver.
Police said the crash happened Saturday morning in Sunset Park at 3rd Avenue and 55th Street, where an out-of-control Cadillac slammed into the woman and then took off.
The woman was identified as Jiayi Zheng, a nurse at NYU Langone Brooklyn, according to police.
“She hit the beam that holds the highway … that’s how hard the car hit her and so that it’s just terrible,” co-worker Juan Rivera said.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) said the car that hit her was speeding down the road and ran a red light.
Colleagues said Zheng was heading home from a hospital shift when she was struck — and then rushed back to the same hospital, but as a patient.
“She was a float nurse so she would go around to different units. She was so fun always smiling, even in the worst situation,” co-worker Foram Ravil said.
Rivera said the circumstances have been difficult for colleagues. “She wanted to go home and she never made it home that’s what’s terrible about it.”
“Everyone’s devastated. It’s the worst,” Ravil said.
Several people noted the intersection of 3rd Ave. and 55th St. is especially dangerous, with speeding cars and drivers who are not paying attention to pedestrians.
“The drivers are really aggressive here in Sunset Park and it seems like even if you are looking the drivers here are really aggressive” a nearby bodega worker said.
NYU Langone said in a statement:
“Our nurses play an essential role in caring for others with compassion and dedication, and this loss is being felt across our entire community.”
Ravil said Zheng will be remembered by those who worked with her.
“She was amazing. I will miss her so much,” Ravil said.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication.