A ‘brilliant’ cardiothoracic surgeon has died two weeks after he was knocked down to the ground in a brutal road rage attack in Brooklyn.
Dr. Jaime Yun, 56, a beloved married father of two, died on June 16 from a traumatic brain injury he sustained from a violent brawl on June 8 just miles away from the hospital where he worked.
Yun, a respected and gifted surgeon was in his vehicle around 11:30pm at the corner of Schenectady and East New York Avenue in Crown Heights, when a verbal dispute took place between him and motorcyclist Dexter Alexander, 31.
According to police, Yun hit the side-view mirror of Alexander’s motorcycle with a stick, and that is when Alexander reportedly punched Yun in the face causing him to hit the pavement, Daily News reported.
When medics arrived they found Yun on the ground with a massive head injury. They transported him to King County Hospital where he was initially expected to survive until his health grew more dire and he died days later.
Dr. Jaime Yun, 56, a victim of a road rage attack in Crown Height’s Brooklyn earlier this month died on June 16
Family and friends were heartbroken over his sudden and senseless death and described him as ‘brillliant,’ and someone who ‘excelled in everything he did.’ He is survived by his wife Tyan, his children, Christopher and Lauren, and five brothers Alfonso, Julio, Enrique, Fernando and Jairo, their wives and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Yen Yu Yun Chang and Cecilia Yun Yee
Yun’s death was ruled a homicide by the city’s Medical Examiner’s office and Alexander was arrested and charged with assault.
It is unclear if the assault charges against Alexander will be upgraded following Yun’s death, The New York Post reported.
Yun was a devoted heart surgeon and served his community and worked at a hospital in the East Flatbush area of Brooklyn.
Family and friends were heartbroken over his sudden and senseless death and described him as ‘brillliant,’ and someone who ‘excelled in everything he did.’
During the 1970s, he immigrated from Colombia with his parents and five brothers and was an exemplary student and an over achiever from a very young age.
Yun attended Bronx Science High School after he was valedictorian at his elementary school, and he graduated summa cum laude at Columbia University before attending New York University Medical School.
One of his medical school professors gave him the nickname ’99’ because his exam scores were always was in the 99 percentile, as per his obituary.
Yun enjoyed being a mentor, and loved to be in the operating room and teach medical students to be a better version of themselves, his loved ones said.
He was also known to have a quirky sense of humor and was usually the first one to laugh at his own jokes.
‘Family was everything to Jaime and his children were the light of his life. He beamed with pride after both his kids attended his alma mater and was excited to talk about his days as a Lion,’ according to his obit.
He visited campus often in the past five years to hang out at his son’s fraternity house and watch his daughter play lacrosse. He was an enthusiastic spectator and his excitement was contagious to many people on the sidelines.’
During the COVID-19 pandemic his family, his neighbors in the Manhasset, and his patients described him as ‘selfless.’
Neighbor Vihas Patel called him an ‘amazing human being.’
He is survived by his wife Tyan, his children, Christopher and Lauren, and five brothers Alfonso, Julio, Enrique, Fernando and Jairo, their wives and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Yen Yu Yun Chang and Cecilia Yun Yee.
A wake was held on Friday at the Fairchild Funeral Home in Manhasset, followed by his funeral at the chapel. A private gravesite burial was held on Sunday at Flushing Cemetery.