QUEENS, NY — A routine workday turned deadly Friday when a van driver’s medical emergency sent his vehicle careening into three construction workers, killing 31-year-old Zhihong Shi in a chain-reaction crash that has rattled the Ozone Park community. The morning tragedy at 87th Street and Atlantic Avenue underscores the hidden dangers faced by delivery workers and tradespeople across New York’s congested streets.
The sequence of horrors began at 10:30 a.m. as Shi and his coworkers—ages 67 and 48—unloaded tools from their legally double-parked vehicle. Without warning, a 35-year-old driver’s Ford Econoline van swerved violently after he suffered an apparent medical episode. The runaway van first struck the workers with crushing force, then plowed into two parked cars before finally stopping. Bystanders described a scene of chaos with tools and debris scattered across the intersection as the injured lay motionless.
While the younger coworker escaped with non-life threatening injuries, the 67-year-old remains in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital with multiple fractures. The van driver, whose identity hasn’t been released, is under medical supervision as investigators await his medical records to determine if he had prior knowledge of any health conditions. Security footage from nearby bodegas is being analyzed to reconstruct the van’s erratic path.
Shi’s death has ignited fresh concerns about street safety in an immigrant-heavy neighborhood where double-parking is an unavoidable reality for tradespeople. “These men were just doing their jobs,” said City Councilwoman Joann Ariola, noting the stretch of Atlantic Avenue has seen 14 pedestrian injuries this year alone. A makeshift memorial of hard hats and flowers now marks where Shi fell, as his widow prepares to repatriate his remains to China.
The NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad confirmed no criminality is suspected, but the case highlights systemic risks. Transportation Alternatives advocates point to the need for more loading zones, while medical groups urge stricter driver health reporting laws. As the injured workers fight to recover, their team has set up a GoFundMe to cover mounting hospital bills and Shi’s funeral costs.
