Thursday, October 1, 2026
Just hours after the first day of school began on Sept. 2, a 72-year-old woman pedestrian was struck and critically injured by a 2004 Ford Explorer at 10:27 a.m. at a busy intersection in East Rockaway.
According to a public information police officer at the 4th precinct, the woman was crossing outside of the marked crosswalk near Ocean and Atlantic avenues when she was hit. Both are county roads.
“We need a crossing guard at this intersection,” said community activist Dan Caracciolo on social media. “ … we pray for [the victim] and the family, and now we must fight for the safety of our community.”
In a story last March, the Herald reported that 60-year-old Carmel Kennedy, of East Rockaway, was struck and killed by a car while she was crossing at the same intersection on foot.
East Rockaway residents — mostly parents of school-aged children — are calling for a crossing guard to be stationed at what they say is a very dangerous intersection, not far from East Rockaway Junior/Senior High School.
Some pedestrians who frequently cross at that corner, which is less than a half-mile from the school, say the intersection is unsafe.
“I used to cross that intersection all the time when I was a student, and it was even bad back then,” said Melissa Obregon, a 1996 graduate of East Rockaway High. “I remember not walking, but running across that street to avoid cars.” Obregon added that the corner is no safer now. “I currently work at CVS on Atlantic Avenue as a pharmacy technician, and drive home through that intersection daily,” she said. “There are so many cars that run the light or inch up when people are crossing. I’ve said for year that there should be a guard there, and I’ve never understood why there wasn’t.”
Another resident reported that her neighbor Alyssa Rillera was struck at that intersection on July 16, 2013, sustaining a fractured collar bone. Through the neighbor, Rillera said that she would want a crossing guard there, or police. “I have seen an many occasion, especially with older people, trouble getting across. Ya need eyes on the side and the back of your head to keep watch of the cars.”
Advice from the 4th Precinct
