Pedestrian hit, killed on Old Country Road in New Cassel, cops say

A van driver struck and killed a pedestrian crossing a New Cassel intersection shortly before dawn on Oct. 11, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

The pedestrian, who sustained severe trauma and was declared dead at the scene, was struck at Old Country Road, near Hilton Street, at about 4:35 a.m. by the 65-year-old driver going westbound, according to a department news release.

Police have identified the pedestrian as Shelly Rudolph, 56, of Staten Island.

The driver's name won't be disclosed because there hasn't been a finding of criminality, a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said he did not know how fast the driver was traveling. Further details of the crash were not disclosed.

Drivers accounted for 61 pedestrian deaths on Long Island in 2019 — the most recent year for which complete figures are available, according to data maintained by the University at Albany's Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research: 29 in Nassau County and 31 in Suffolk.

Charges against drivers who cause crashes on the Island are rare, even when pedestrians and cyclists are killed, a Newsday investigation found in May.