BY Daniel Massey
The 63-year-old Jamaica Estates woman struck by a van on Queens Boulevard Dec. 19 died last week in Jamaica Hospital, becoming the 76th person killed on the dangerous roadway since 1993.
Eulalia Cardenas died on Christmas Eve of blunt head trauma sustained in the accident, said hospital spokeswoman Tara Fleming.
Cardenas was crossing with the signal Dec. 19 shortly before 7 p.m. when a van traveling southbound on 78th Street turned left onto Queens Boulevard, striking her.
The driver of the van, Ryszard Ochetal, 51, of Kew Gardens, also had the light and was not ticketed, police said.
Cardenas was the second pedestrian over age 60 struck on Queens Boulevard in a span of three weeks.
A 69-year-old man who scaled a barrier designed to stop jaywalkers Nov. 30 was struck by a sport utility vehicle and killed while crossing the roadway at 71st Avenue.
Shom Singh, of Elmhurst, was the first pedestrian killed on Queens Boulevard since signal timing giving pedestrians 60 seconds to walk across the street during peak hours was put into place in March.
The two serious accidents came at a time when safety improvements on the roadway, dubbed the “Boulevard of Death” by the Daily News, was making it a safer place for pedestrians.
Cardenas’ death marked the fourth fatal accident on the seven-mile stretch in 2001, down from six in 2000. An average of nine people have been killed on the thoroughfare each year since 1993.
