Pedestrian Killed on Henry Street

By on December 13, 2006 3:00 pm in News

News 12 BrooklynBrooklyn Record reports that a fatal accident occured this morning on Henry Street and Remsen Street around 7:30 6:30 am.  Unconfirmed reports News 12 Brooklyn (video) confirms that Brooklyn Law professor Sara Robbins was Comments posted on the Record claim that a mother and child were killed by a garbage truck driven by someone talking on a cell phone. Streetsblog writes that at least 6 pedestrians have been killed at the intersection of Henry and Montague since 1995. Today's fatality marks the 7th. (*Streetsblog has deleted this post and the figure is in question).

Brooklyn Record: Two readers just sent us word that a pedestrian was killed by a truck on Henry Street this morning. As neighborhood resident Whitney Browne writes:

"I walked out of my apartment at 7:50 this morning and there was a white-sheet-covered body lying in the middle of Henry Street just south of Montague. A blue dump truck was stopped just past it. There were police everywhere. I'm no detective, but it looked as though the truck had hit and killed the pedestrian as he/she was crossing Henry Street."

Whitney says she saw news crews and what looked like a forensics team examining the body a few hours later. A commenter on the Eric Ng thread estimates that the incident occurred around 7:30am.

If you have information, please post below.

Video from News 12 Brooklyn

Eyes on the Street: Horrific Ped Fatality in Bklyn Heights This AM [Streetsblog] 

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  • Kate

    The following article is online.12/13/06) “DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN – A well-respected Brooklyn Law School professor is dead after she was hit by a private sanitation truck Wednesday. Police say Sara Robbins was hit while crossing Henry Street around 6:30 a.m. Residents in the area say truck drivers travel too fast and have no regard for pedestrians. At this point, police are calling Robbins’ death an accident. Officials on the scene says it is unlikely the truck driver will face criminal charges.”

    There is no reason anybody should die this way in our small neigborhood. This is such a sad event.

    Maybe we need speed bumps or less parking tickets and more speeding tickets.

  • John Kirsch

    “Private Garbage Truck”…I saw her body this morning awful what a waste…An accident, please how did he miss her? The Police need to start enforcing speeding cars coming through Henry and stop concentrating on Parking offenses…

  • Citizen Brooklyn

    do you have link to the story?

  • Kate
  • http://keever.livejournal.com keever

    This is awful, but sadly not all that surprising given how common it is to see people taking that turn way too quickly. I was right there later on this morning but didn’t see anything. She and her family are in my thoughts.

    If the driver really was on a cell phone, I don’t understand why charges wouldn’t be pressed since it is illegal to drive while talking on one that isn’t hands-free.

  • James

    I was walking out of my road (Henry St) at 6.30 and saw the uncovered body – police had just arrived and were sealing off the road. No-one looked remotely concerned and police were just chatting away. The body was surrounded by vomit so I assumed one of the sanitarian guys had fallen off the back of the truck and was knocked unconscious. Now I feel terrible about what happened.
    Having moved over from the UK I find it difficult to accept how the driver will get away with this given how strict law enforcement is out here. Crazy if you ask me.

  • jeffk

    I got clipped by an SUV at that intersection a couple months back – some woman was in a hurry, so she just forced her way through the pedestrians in the crosswalk (who had the light). It’s way too common there.

  • A

    that’s not correct, that 6 peds killed at the intersection figure. that’s not what sblog reported either.

  • Mike

    No way six pedestrians were run over at Henry and Montague. That’s just not right.

    I do agree with the comments, that moving violations should take priority over parking violations.

    If it’s true that this driver, was busy on a cell phone, they should be prosecuted.

  • will.xls

    I lived on Montague until last year a few steps away from that intersection and attend BLS. Several times I have had the light and someone, usually a women, in an SUV tries to intimidate me into not crossing by accelerating right up to the cross walk or skirting past me closely. Trucks are much more dangerous because of a corner phone booth and tree that blocks the view of the cross walk on the other side. Trucks turn blindly and end up on top of pedestrians with far too much enertia to stop.

    Prof. Robbins and her family are in my prayers.

  • http://www.nydailynews.com M. Hermann

    The incident came over right at 6:15 — from the way it sounded on the police radio, it may have been witnessed by officers. I believe they were reporting it to the dispatcher and asking for an ambulance before a broadcast went out.

    I arrived as the second police unit pulled up. These incidents are always sad, and it’s not the kind of thing you want to cover, especially around the holidays, and as a local resident who crosses that intersection scores of times a year.

    -M.H.
    News Photographer

  • bklyn**

    kate, as a native (born/raised/schooled) in brooklyn heights i am curious as to where you think that “something like this” should occur…maybe in “another” neighborhood, no?
    food for thought
    my heart goes out to the victim and her family

  • H.C. Singh

    It is a horrible accident in which my boss, Sara Robbins was killed. I would expect a thorough investigation of this accident by an independent investigator. I would also like that Montague, Remsen , Clinton and Henry streets should be closed for cars altogether, delivery trucks and sanitary trucks be allowed for limited time at certain time of the day. I know this area very much. This area is full of pedastrians walking for banking, food and shopping all day long and expect safetythere. I would miss Sara Robbins who was good hearted person, very good boss, hardworking, intelligent and respected in the educational, legal and professional librarian’s community.

  • Cie

    I was on my way to work around 9:15am and saw that there was a white sheet covering something in the middle of the street and another sheet covering a larger object (body) next to the sidewalk. Although this was my first time seeing something like this I knew it must be a body. The things I heard before reading about this story was that a professor was hit by a dumpster truck and killed while she was jay walking and talking on the cell phone. The dumpster truck honked and people screamed before the truck hitting her.

    Forget the above hear-said story. I think the intersection is a blind spot for drivers making turns. The trees and building along Henry Street between Montague and Remsem St shadows this street and objects at Montague and Henry are a sight obstruction. If she was hit around 6:30am then it must have been still dark as according to weather reports the sun rises around 7am these days. Personally I think speed bumps should be in place. Sight obstructions (included parked cars and phone booths, which is at the corner of Montague and Henry) within 20-30 feet of an intersection should be removed as they are a risk to pedestrians.

    I usually look both ways regardless of the direciton of traffic before I cross a street. One time I only look at the direction of incoming cars and almost got hit on a narrow one way street with cars parked when someone drove in the wrong direction in the federal buildings in Manhattan (I think it was an unmarked cop car or court officer’s car.)

    If devices and technology save us time, why don’t people have more time to be with their family and friends? Why drive when you can walk :D

  • Vicki

    I really cannot understand how someone getting crushed by the REAR wheels of a vehicle can be an unpreventable accident at all. Sara was not struck by the front of this truck, but somehow found herself crushed under its rear wheels. To me it sounds like a careless driver in a speeding vehicle. Many of us have seen motorists drive way too fast on these streets – particularly service vehicles like sanitation trucks and buses. There may be visual obstructions at this intersection, but if drivers went more slowly and took the proper precautions, this might not have been a fatal accident at all. I knew Sara Robbins for many years. She was risk adverse. It is extremely unlikely that she would put herself in harm’s way. Nothing can bring this good person back to our community, but action should be taken to prevent more so-called “accidents.”

  • John Kirsch

    Bottom line:

    Trucks and cars on Montague and Henry consistently cut hard lefts to beat the pedestrians walking from the entrance of Corcoran towards Court. Again it comes down to Police enforcement of predistrian rights. This particular area represents a high concentration of pederstrain traffic and rules need to be enforced vis-a-vis automobiles. Police are not stoping drivers for these violations. One needs only to spend a twenty mins on the corner of Henry, Hicks or Clinton and count the number of drivers either speeding, talking on their cell phones, or “semi yeilding” (regardless if it is a woman and her baby stroller) into turns to realize no laws are being enforced. Parking tickets/towing violations take complete precedence here…

    People speeding, and driving while on their cell phones (We do note know that this was the case with the driver of the garbage truck) should be fined and procesucted if necessary.

  • Rochelle

    I have known Sara Robbins for nearly 30 years. She was a kind and gentle person who would never hurt anyone. I am still in a state of shock and I will miss her very much. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

  • http://www.petebrush.com pbdotc

    this makes me sad. i live at clinton / atlantic and go jogging or walking up through heights all the time. on clinton st., i can tell you it’s a freeforall with crazy drivers obsessed with getting to the bridges. and yes, the parking enforcement people ticket mercilessly but nobody is enforcing driving and / or noise laws. sad.

  • Get a Summons

    The police should get the cell phone records of the driver. If he was on his cell phone at the time, that is illegal. Why aren’t the police doing this? If family & friends want to organize a community action at the precinct, there would be many people there.