The 71-year-old Brooklyn woman killed by an out-of-control driver fleeing cops last week was the victim of a homicide, police said Wednesday.
Juanita Vidal was running an errand for her 17-year-old grandson’s birthday with her 44-year-old daughter at the same time officers from the NYPD’s 83rd precinct attempted to pull over the driver of a blue Mazda CX-5 with Massachusetts plates at the corner of Eldert St. and Wilson Ave. in Bushwick around 5 p.m. May 9.
The driver instead took off northbound on Eldert St. and blew through two stop signs a block away at the intersection of Knickerbocker Ave. and Eldert St., cops said.
Video viewed by the Daily News showed the driver streaking through the intersection as police followed close behind. Just off camera, in the crosswalk, the driver slammed into Vidal and her 44-year-old daughter.
She was taken to Wyckoff Hospital but could not be saved. Her daughter, Jessica Vidal, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center in stable condition.
The city Medical Examiner deemed Vidal’s death a homicide, cops said Wednesday.
Police are still looking for the driver, who ditched the totaled car after the crash and fled onto an L train at the nearby Halsey St. Station.
The driver was described by cop sources as a man with a ponytail wearing gray sweatpants.
