Elderly woman killed crossing Park Avenue

An elderly Long Beach woman was struck and killed by a car on a rainy afternoon on Tuesday as she crossed East Park Avenue.

According to Sgt. Eric Cregeen, a spokesman for the Long Beach Police Department, 85-year-old Sylvia Zucker was crossing the street along the 600 block of East Park, at around 1:07 p.m., when she was hit by a car driven by a 21-year-old Long Beach man.

“She was crossing the street northbound toward that row of stores where Associated is, and as she’s crossing the street, there’s a car headed westbound,” Cregeen said, adding that the victim was not crossing at a traffic light. “He locks up the brakes, and we had wet pavement over there, and the car slid on the wet pavement and struck Mrs. Zucker.”

She was taken by ambulance to Long Beach Medical Center, where Cregeen said, she died of a head injury.

He added that the driver, whose name was not released, was not charged. “We had Nassau [County Police Department’s] Crime Scene come down and process the scene, and we’re going to attribute the accident to the wet pavement,” Cregeen said. “It’s a real tragedy all around — sad for the young kid, too.”

East Walnut Street resident Kevin Sturm, who saw the aftermath of the accident, said the street was roped off from East End Pizza to the Associated supermarket. Sturm said that traffic and accidents in the area are a major concern. “That’s a pretty serious spot over there,” he said. “There’s always some kind of accident.”

Resident Richard Boodman said that there should be marked pedestrian crosswalks. “That block is a perfect storm for pedestrian road kill,” he said. “That 25 mph sign on the lamppost in the middle of the block is poorly located, and at the very least should be moved and prominently displayed at the intersection of Roosevelt and Park to warn motorists of the potential danger. [And] we need strict enforcement of the traffic laws. That’s a big problem.”