Holocaust survivor dies after BMW hits him on way to synagogue, New York police say
A Holocaust survivor heading to a synagogue in his wheelchair died after crossing a street in Brooklyn when a BMW hit him, according to New York City police and media reports.
The male BMW driver, whose name wasn’t released, stayed at the scene after his car struck the man, the NYPD said.
Jack Mikulincer, 99, of Brooklyn, was found “lying in the roadway with trauma to the body,” when authorities arrived at the intersection of Coleridge Street and Oriental Boulevard in Brooklyn around 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, police said in a statement to McClatchy News.
The Holocaust survivor was going to a nearby synagogue with his friend, Jehuda Lindenblatt, before he was struck by the car, Spectrum News reported.
Mikulincer was brought to a hospital after he was hit and was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD. Police confirmed that “the investigation remains ongoing at this time by the NYPD’s Highway Collision Investigation Squad.”
Charges haven’t been filed against the 52-year-old BMW driver as of Feb. 6, NBC New York reported.
“Every Saturday we go to the synagogue together,” Lindenblatt told Spectrum News of Mikulincer. “A man you never find, like this. Kind, everybody loves him.”
“And you see a friend die in front of you, yes, unbelievable,” Lindenblatt continued. “[But] he died instantly, the doctor told me, in the hospital on Coney Island. So he didn’t have pain.”
Mikulincer and Lindenblatt planned to attend synagogue at the Manhattan Beach Jewish Center, according to the New York Daily News.
The 99-year-old was from Hungary and fought against Nazis during World War II before he was sent to concentration camps during the Holocaust, Lindenblatt told the outlet.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Holocaust survivor dies after BMW hits him on way to synagogue, New York police say."
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