Prospect Park Hit-And-Run Leaves Jogger Unconscious: Police

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — A jogger was struck by a car and knocked unconscious on Thursday morning in Prospect Park, police said.

An NYPD spokesman told Patch the 51-year-old woman's body was discovered just before 5 a.m. near the intersection of the West Drive and Prospect Park West. A New York Daily News photo from the scene, though, shows it happened closer to the Parade Ground on the southern side of the park.

She was taken to Maimonides Medical Center with "body trauma," police said. Investigators believe she was hit by a car. No one has been arrested, and the investigation is ongoing, police said.

While it's unclear exactly where the woman was struck, all of Prospect Park is closed to private vehicle traffic at that time.

The West Drive is permanently closed to private cars,and the East Drive does let vehicles through from 7 until 9 a.m. In October, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the entire park would go "car-free" starting in January.

NYPD and Parks Department vehicles, however, are permitted to drive through the park at all hours to conduct park business.

And, as Streetsblog notes, there are no design features in place at the park's entrances to keep unauthorized cars out. There are barricades and "do not enter" signs.

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said the jogger was struck near Grand Army Plaza. The NYPD's account of the crash location doesn't correspond with photos from the scene published in other news outlets.)

Lead image: Joggers in Prospect Park, October 2015, AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz