Police Report: Pedestrian Death on the BRP, Park Road Holiday-Week Burglary Discovered by Housekeeper

Pedestrian Death on the Bronx River Parkway: A Greenburgh woman suffered fatal injuries on Tuesday night January 7, 2020 when she was struck and killed as she crossed the Bronx River Parkway at Fisher Lane. The woman was identified as Sandra Dekoubia, 57.  Westchester County Police responded to the parkway at 6:17 p.m. on a report that a pedestrian had been struck by a Lexus SUV that was traveling southbound in the left lane of travel. No charges were filed against the driver of the vehicle, who remained at the scene.Dekoubia was pronounced dead at the scene by Greenburgh paramedics. This is the sixth serious accident involving pedstrians in Greenburgh since September.

Burglary
On Dec. 30, a pair of housekeepers reported a Park Road house appeared to have been burglarized over the weekend. Police met the housekeepers at the front door of the house and asked them to wait outside while police investigated the interior. Police found a rear basement door had been forced open. The rest of the house appeared orderly. The housekeepers said they had been in the house working for approximately two hours before they went into the basement and saw they open door. While cleaning, they noticed previously items were out of place in the master bedroom closet, but they did not suspect criminal activity and simply cleaned up the area and dusted it.  The homeowner was notified. It is suspected some jewelry was stolen during the burglary.

Stolen car
On the morning of Jan. 4, a Lee Road resident woke up to find her $35,000 2017 Toyota Highlander had been stolen from her driveway overnight. Police are following up. 

Stolen
A Spencer Place business owner reported an employee had stolen approximately $1,300 cash, checks and $15,000 in merchandise from her store Dec. 28-29. When requested, none of the stolen items were returned to the store. Police are following up.

On Jan. 3, a Popham Road storeowner reported a larceny that occurred on Jan. 2. Video surveillance showed three individuals enter the store, conceal merchandise valued at $1,750.95 on their persons and exit the store without paying for the items. Police are following up.

Car break-ins
On Dec. 31, a Potter Road resident reported a gym bag containing clothing, headphones, medication and an iPhone was stolen from his parked car on the street.

On Jan. 4, one Lee Road resident reported someone broke into his wife’s unlocked car overnight and riffled through items in the console and glove box. Nothing was stolen. 

On Jan. 4, another Lee Road resident reported someone broke into his unlocked car overnight and stole sunglasses.  

During the overnight period of Jan. 4 – Jan. 5, an unknown person walked onto a Walworth Avenue driveway and attempted to open the door handle of a parked car in the driveway. Nothing was reported damaged or stolen.  

Check fraud
On Dec. 31, a Haverford Avenue resident reported four checks totaling more than $3,000 were stolen from his mailbox. The payee’s names on the checks were altered, and the checks were subsequently cashed. The resident’s bank flagged the checks as fraudulent. Police are following up.

ID theft
On Dec. 30, a Brambach Road man reported someone had fraudulently attempted to open a Neiman Marcus credit card in his name on or around Dec. 25. The account was cancelled, and the man’s other creditors were notified of the ID theft.

On Jan. 3, a Carstensen Drive resident reported he was the victim of ID theft with regard to a fraudulently opened Verizon account that had accumulated an unpaid balance due. The resident is following up with Verizon’s fraud department.

Computer scam
On Jan. 3, a Bradley Road resident reported he was the victim of computer fraud. He said he received a pop-up message on his Dell computer indicating that the computer was affected by a virus. The resident called a number listed in the pop-up and allowed a person on the line to remotely access his computer to “fix” it. Later follow-up with Microsoft revealed that the alleged phone representative did not work for Microsoft, and the pop-up was most likely a scam.

Recovered phone
A man reached out to police for assistance in retrieving his iPhone from Depot Place Jan. 5. The man reported his phone had been stolen from him in the Bronx the previous night, and he was able to track the phone to Village Center. With police help, the man called his phone, and it could be heard ringing in a pile of leaves. The man was able to successfully retrieve his phone. No suspects were present near the discarded phone.

Assistance
A Heathcote Road medical office called police for assistance because a 31-year-old patient was refusing to leave the office due to the fact that medication had not been prescribed for him Dec. 30. Police arrived, and the patient left the scene.

A passenger arrived at the Scarsdale train station at 2:26 a.m., Dec. 31, and requested help getting home. The passenger and a relative said they fell asleep on the train and were unfamiliar with the area. Police helped the passenger call a taxi and remained on scene until the taxi arrived.

Shortly before midnight Jan. 5, police provided a person with a courtesy ride to the Hartsdale train station from Walworth Avenue. The person said he was trying to get to the Bronx by train.

Quaker Ridge parents called police to assist with a dispute over car use by their 18-year-old son Jan. 5. The son wanted to use his parent’s car to drive to a friend’s house. The parent’s said they would drive their son to the friend’s house instead, as they did not want him driving there himself. The son was angry about his parent’s decision, according to the parents. Police arrived and explained to the son that although he was 18 years old, the car was registered to his parents and therefore it was their decision about when and where it could be driven. The son said he understood and would either stay home or let his parents drive him. 

Welfare check
A brother asked police to check the welfare of his sister on Fayette Road Jan. 2. The sister was fine, as she was just taking a nap. Police urged her to contact her brother and check in.

Civil matter
Police were called for a dispute between a Nelson Road resident and a contractor who was there to repair a stove with a defective igniter Jan. 2. After the repairman allegedly worked on the stove for approximately two hours, the resident asked if the stove could be fixed. At that time, the resident said the contractor became “visibly upset” and started “pacing around the kitchen.” The resident said she called the manufacturer who advised the resident to “leave the contractor alone and let him do his work.” The resident asked the contractor to leave, and he allegedly told her that gas might leak, causing the resident to call the contractor back. Police and firefighters checked the condition of the stove and gas line to confirm nothing had been tampered with. No leaking gas was detected.

Cars and roadways
On Dec. 30, multiple reports indicated a tree had fallen across Post Road and knocked down electrical wires. A perimeter was established so police and firefighters could detour vehicles around the hazards, and Con Edison was notified. 

Due to a transformer spill, a Haz-Mat team was dispatched to the scene.

On Dec. 30, police received several calls about people in private cars doing things with packages in the village. Investigation and communication with UPS confirmed that UPS workers were making deliveries in private vehicles due to the holiday rush.

A caller complained about debris in Fenimore Road Dec. 30. Police went to the scene and saw a discarded Christmas tree in the street. Police moved the tree onto the sidewalk and contacted the sanitation department.

On Dec. 31, police cleared a fallen branch from Heathcote Road and notified the highway department for pickup. 

Police notified the proper utility providers about fallen wire on Montrose Road Dec. 31 and Garden Road Jan. 3.

On Jan. 2, police helped a pedestrian safely cross Weaver Street.

Police notified Verizon about a fallen wire on Aspen Road Jan. 2.

The highway department was notified about an overflowing storm drain on Brayton Road Jan. 2. 

Police asked the driver of an illegally parked truck to move it from blacking a Popham Road driveway Jan. 4. 

Seven car accidents were reported in the village during the reporting period. 

Firefighters
Fire Captain James Seymour shared the following details about incidents that occurred in the village during this week’s reporting period. 

On Dec. 30, firefighters assisted with a rollover car accident on the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway. Four occupants of the car were able to get out of the cat on their own. They each refused medical treatment. Firefighters cleaned up spilled fluids from the roadway and stood by until the car was removed by tow. 

Smoke from a fireplace with a partially closed damper filled a Tompkins Road living room Dec. 31. Firefighters put out the fire and assisted with ventilation.

A holiday wreath caught fire in a Crane Road house Jan. 4. It was extinguished by the homeowner. Firefighters checked for extension and ventilated the house. 

On Jan. 4, firefighters assisted at a car accident on the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway. 

On Jan. 5, firefighters assisted Greenville Fire Department with a laundry room fire in an apartment building on Central Avenue. They helped evacuate occupants and checked apartments for extension. The affected appliances were removed from the building.

This report covering police and fire department activity from Dec. 30, 2019 to Jan. 5, 2020 has been compiled from official information. 

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