Scholarship Fund Seeks to Raise Money in Honor of Nurse Who Died in Freak Accident

The death of a nurse practitioner from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital last month was declared a homicide by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office on Sept. 7, and friends set up a GoFundMe page to pay for her funeral and to start a scholarship in her name.

A freak accident outside Martha Rodriguez’s Harlem home caused her death. On Aug. 3, Rodriguez (72) was pushed to the ground by a man (who appeared to be getting chased by a group he may have had an argument or altercation with) on Lenox Ave., near W. 134th St., according to police. She was brought to the hospital “in critical condition,” and “succumbed to her injuries,” notably including head trauma, three days later.

“Martha had a zest for life. She loved the arts, always finding time to go to a theater production or a museum,” says the GoFundMe page. “Over the years, Martha’s dedication, compassion and expertise touched the lives of countless patients and caregivers. Her patients adored her, and she was a beacon of hope and kindness to everyone she encountered. She was also a highly valued colleague who will be dearly missed.

The NYPD says the investigation remains ongoing but according to a report, police may never be able to convict the suspect who caused her fall in a freak accident.

PIX11 first reported this story, revealing the classification from the office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The New York Daily News later noted that not only did the victim—Martha Rodriguez (72) — spend 28 years working as a nurse practitioner at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (15 of which focused on assisting Breast Cancer patients), but she also donated three organs after her death, continuing to save lives after losing her own.

“Martha’s commitment to helping others extended beyond her professional life,” said a GoFundMe page set up by Alexandra Ebol and Jazmin Bush who said she donated three of organs to people in need. “She wanted her final act of kindness to be donating her kidneys and liver to those in need,” they wrote. “This selfless gesture is a testament to the kind and giving person Martha was.

There is not enough evidence for the NYPD to corroborate the Medical Examiner’s classification of the incident as a homicide, police sources told the Daily News. Video footage suggests that the initial incident may have been an accident as the suspect was being chased by a group of men. But the source said that instead of helping Rodriguez after he knocked her down, he fled the scene.

“There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing,” according to a police spokesperson.