New details emerge in tractor-trailer death of woman on Eastern Parkway
Deborah Koonce was found dead on Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue, only a block away from where she lived at the Institute for Community Living.
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The death of a 69-year-old woman who was killed by a truck driver Friday morning on Eastern Parkway is not being investigated as a hit-and-run, police say.
Deborah Koonce was found dead on Eastern Parkway and Schenectady Avenue, only a block away from where she lived at the Institute for Community Living.
MORE: Hit-and-run in Crown Heights prompts safety concerns along Eastern Parkway
Residents who knew Koonce to be panhandling in the area, questioned whether the facility knew she was outside on the morning of the crash.
Authorities say it was a 50-year-old man driving a 2019 Western Star tractor-trailer that struck Koonce. Multiple signs on the parkway read “passenger cars only.”
Police say they are not investigating it as a hit-and-run since the driver claimed he did not see the woman in the road.
The Institute for Community Living released a statement saying,
"We are deeply saddened by the tragic news that Deborah, a long-time member of the ICL community, was killed in an accident over the weekend. Deborah was well known to our staff, and East House was her home. Over the years, our team built meaningful relationships with her, the kind of connections that define the heart of our work. We grieve alongside all who knew and cared about her, and we especially extend our heartfelt condolences to her loved ones.”
News 12 also reached out to the DOT about the tractor-trailer being on a passenger cars only road but has not yet received a response.
