Deadly B’klyn U-turn
Shocked hubby saw vic, learns truth later
A beloved Brooklyn grandmother was fatally struck by a Mercedes just down the block from her home, by a driver who made an illegal U-turn through a red light, cops said Wednesday.
Bella Wolman, 69, was crossing Avenue M in the marked crosswalk at E. 12th St. in Midwood when the driver, 65-year-old Gittie Klein, made the illicit maneuver with her 2020 Mercedes Benz S 540 at about 5:20 p.m. Tuesday, cops said.
Medics rushed Wolman to Maimonides Medical Center, where she died.
Wolman, a bookkeeper, took care of her infirm mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died last year at age 101.
In a sad twist, her husband, Yosef Wolman, passed by the scene of the fatal crash on his way home and didn’t realize his wife was the victim.
“I saw a woman lying on the ground,” he said. “I didn’t recognize her. I didn’t know her. I couldn’t see it was her. Her face was covered with a
mask, there was blood all over,” he said at a funeral service Wednesday.
Wolman walked over, noticing the strap of her bag was wrapped around her mouth, and bent down to remove it, but still didn’t realize it was her.
When he returned home, he noticed Wolman’s mother’s death certificate on his desk, and something clicked and he went back outside,
troubled, and eventually learned that the woman was his wife.
Wolman’s friends described her as devoted to her family. She had four children and several grandchildren.
“If there’s one thing I can say about Bella is that she took wonderful care of her mother. Now that I think of it, she never complained once or ever hinted that it was hard,” said one long
time friend, who didn’t give a name. “She was so happy to take care of her. She’d go and sing to her every single night. She was an incredible daughter.”
Klein was arrested for failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care. She was also cited for running a red light and making an illegal U-turn.
Klein lives about a mile away from where she crashed.