NEW YORK — A 7-year-old boy was struck and killed by an NYPD tow truck while on his way to school with his mother Thursday in Brooklyn.
Surveillance video shows the boy riding a scooter on a crosswalk at the intersection of North Portland and Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene. The tow truck driver didn’t immediately stop after striking the boy.
“I’m devastated. I was coming to get my baby’s breakfast this morning and the tow truck hit that little boy. He had a crosswalk. He was coming through the crosswalk, he had the right of way, on a scooter,” said Antwon Hayes.
Witnesses watched in shock and then ran to help the boy, but it was too late.
“She hit that little boy and kept going. I had to tell the housing workers to stop her, from her to keep going. The mother’s screaming hysterically, ‘They killed my baby!'” said Hayes.
Witnesses said the driver was on her cellphone, speeding and ran a red light.
“I think I was crying more than her, because to see devastation like that, she just kept screaming ‘They killed my baby.’ And it’s unimaginable. I can’t imagine my grandbaby that played with him every day in the park being here, laying down like that,” said Tyrana Carter.
“Our heart goes out to the family of that young boy and his mother, his school, his teachers who were also on the scene, a very tough scene to be at this morning,” said NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey.
According to Transportation Alternatives, nine children were killed in traffic violence in New York City in 2020 and this was the 103rd time a child was killed in a traffic crash since 2014.
“How do we make sure that we have more crossing guards across the city?” said New York City Council Member Crystal Hudson.
Police said the 56-year-old woman driving the tow truck is a member of the NYPD.
“We have to hold the NYPD accountable the same way we expect to hold every other New Yorker accountable for obeying traffic laws,” said Hudson.
Police said it wasn’t immediately clear if the driver will face charges.
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