Doorman Dies Days After Being Hit By Car On UWS, Police Say

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A Brooklyn man that was hit by a careless driver on the Upper West Side died of his injuries days after the crash, police said.

Alfred Pocari, 64, died on Monday, July 22 after being hit by a car in the intersection of West End Avenue and West 98th Street three days before, police said. Pocari and a 65-year-old woman were hit by a driver that ran a red light as they were crossing the street, police said.

An investigation by the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad revealed that the driver was heading north on West End Avenue in a 2011 Acura SUV when the traffic signal turned red, police said. Instead of stopping, the driver continued through the intersection and crashed into Pocari and the woman, police said.

EMS rushed both victims to St. Luke's hospital in critical condition, police said. Pocari was suffering injuries to his head and the woman was suffering severe injuries to her body, police said.

Pocari worked on the Upper West Side as a doorman at a West End Avenue building and was known for his warm personality, the West Side Rag first reported. The doorman moved to New York from Albania and was a grandfather, according to the report.

A GoFundMe campaign set up for Pocari and his family has raised nearly $20,000 as of this writing.

The driver, 34-year-old Walden resident Jessenia Fajardo, was arrested at the scene of the crash and charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian, driving without insurance, disobeying traffic laws and failing to exercise due care.

Fajardo is also facing charges for leaving the scene of a collision that resulted in an injury in May, according to court records. Fajardo is accused of driving over a man's foot while in the Tribeca intersection of Desbrosses Street and Washington Street, stopping her car and then fleeing the scene when the man said he was going to file a police report, according to a criminal complaint.

When police interviewed Fajardo about the May incident she told them: "I know the incident that you are talking about. I don't believe that I hit him. I thought he was just exaggerating. This doesn't make any sense. If I hit his foot, wouldn't I have hit other parts of his body? I left when he went to call the police because I had to get to work. I am on probation."

Fajardo is due back in court on August 22 for charges stemming from both the Tribeca and Upper West Side crashes.