1

MANHATTAN, NY — A 3-year-old girl was killed and three others were injured when a driver struck multiple pedestrians in a crosswalk in Harlem on July 11, police said. The driver, identified as Devon Joseph, 41, of 720 Esplanade Gardens Plaza, was charged with failure to yield to pedestrians.

The incident occurred at approximately 7:38 p.m. at the intersection of Lenox Avenue and West 135th Street in the 32nd Precinct. Police responded to a 911 call and found a 3-year-old girl, later identified as Jaynelyse Valdez of New Rochelle, unconscious and unresponsive with head and body trauma. Valdez was transported by private means to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Three others were also hit in the collision: a 2-year-old boy, a 4-month-old boy and a 37-year-old woman, all of whom were privately transported to the hospital and are in stable condition.

An investigation by the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Team determined that Joseph was driving a 2020 Nissan Pathfinder southbound on Lenox Avenue when he turned left onto West 135th Street. Police said the pedestrians were crossing a crosswalk marked with a right-of-way signal when Joseph’s vehicle struck them.

Joseph remained at the scene and was not injured. No additional arrests have been made, but the investigation remains ongoing as the NYPD looks into the circumstances of the fatal collision.