Nurse Dies at Hospital Where She Worked After Being Struck in Hit-and-Run on Her Way Home. The Driver Hasn’t Been Caught

Nurse Dies at Hospital Where She Worked After Being Struck in Hit-and-Run on Her Way Home. The Driver Hasn’t Been Caught https://ift.tt/HzOmL6d

Jiayi Zheng, a 28-year-old nurse at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, was walking home after an overnight shift when she was hit

NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn in Sunset Park
Credit: Google Maps

NEED TO KNOW

• Jiayi Zheng, a 28-year-old nurse, was struck by a car in a hit-and-run on Aug. 29 while walking home after an overnight shift
• Zheng was pronounced dead at nearby NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, where she worked
• The driver of the Cadillac sedan that hit Zheng has not yet been identified, and no arrests have been made

A New York City nurse died at the hospital where she worked after she was struck in a hit-and-run by a driver who remains at large.

Jiayi Zheng was struck by a Cadillac sedan while walking in a crosswalk at 55th Street and Third Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, at around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD). 

Police said the 28-year-old nurse “was thrown onto the roadway,” sustaining severe trauma to both her head and body.

Surveillance footage viewed by the New York Daily News and News12 shows Zheng, clad in hospital scrubs and a backpack, waiting for the light to walk before stepping into the crosswalk. She then makes it about halfway through before the sedan speeds into the intersection and hits her without slowing down, per the outlets.

The intersection of Third Avenue and 55th Street in Brooklyn, where a fatal hit-and-run took place on Aug. 29, 2026
Credit: Google Maps

Zheng was transported to nearby NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn, where she worked as a nurse, and was pronounced dead, according to police. 

New York Sen. Andrew Gounardes also confirmed her death on X, writing, “UPDATE: The victim, a nurse coming off the night shift, has passed from her injuries. Please keep her in your prayers.”

The Sunset Park resident had just finished an overnight shift and was headed home when she was hit, News12 reported, citing hospital sources.

The driver, meanwhile, fled the scene. The car did not slow down as it left the intersection where the collision occurred and headed south on Third Avenue, according to News 12.

NYPD investigators have identified the vehicle that struck Zheng as a 2014 Cadillac sedan, but as of Sunday afternoon, have not yet identified the driver.

“There are no arrests at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad,” the NYPD said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

Zheng lived less than a mile away from the scene of the hit-and-run and about a mile away from the hospital where she worked, per police. 

A nurse in the NYU hospital’s medical surgical unit, she was “always positive and in a good mood,” hospital sources told News12.

NYPD vehicle (stock image)
Credit: Marcin Golba/NurPhoto via Getty

In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Sunday, Aug. 30, hospital spokesperson James Iorio said, “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jiayi Zheng, a nurse at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn. This is a tragic loss, and we extend our sincere condolences to her family, loved ones, and colleagues.”

“Our nurses play an essential role in caring for others with compassion and dedication, and this loss is being felt across our entire community,” Iorio added.

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An employee at a nearby business, Mendez Deli, recounted the moments after the hit-and-run to the New York Daily News.

“I opened the store and I had customers waiting and they heard someone got into an accident. When my customer [stepped] out they saw the lady in the street and we called 911,” the deli worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told the outlet. 

The deli worker said they saw Zheng in the aftermath of the collision. “I feel so bad,” they told the New York Daily News. “I couldn’t handle seeing that. It was very bad.”