A small boy was struck and killed by a police officer driving a tow truck early on Thursday near Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, witnesses said.
Witnesses and the NYPD told Streetsblog that a mother was walking with her 7-year-old son on a green kick scooter west on Myrtle Avenue at around 7:45 a.m. when the tow truck driver, heading westbound on the dangerous two-way street, struck the child as the driver made a right onto N. Portland Avenue — and kept on going.
“The mother was out there screaming,” said one witness. “And she left the stroller to chase down the truck,” which kept going. “The truck just busted and left.”
Another witness, Antwoan Hayes, said the tow truck driver was speeding.
“The mother was screaming, ‘They killed my baby,'” Hayes said.
“It’s a bright-ass fucking day and the truck turned right into them,” another witness added.
The child was taken to nearby Brooklyn Hospital, where he died, police said.
An NYPD spokesperson on the scene said the driver is a 54-year-old traffic enforcement agent. The traffic enforcement unit has been under NYPD leadership for decades. Previously, it was a Department of Transportation unit.
A representative of the tenants association of the Whitman Houses said residents of the NYCHA apartment buildings are angry and are demanding that Mayor Adams visit the scene. Tow trucks are frequently driven through the dense residential neighborhood to get to the tow pound on nearby Navy Street.
The tow truck in Thursday’s crash was indeed towing away a car.
“They [tow trucks] come through a lot, especially around 6 to 8 a.m.,” said another neighborhood resident, who gave the name Reem, who had just dropped off his daughter. “This is a tragedy. It’s a loving community. My daughter goes to school right up the street. It could have been her.”
As a matter of city safety, tow trucks do perform a valuable role. The car being towed during Thursday’s incident had an Oklahoma plate — and a long record of reckless driving that includes 11 camera-issued speeding tickets and one camera-issued red-light ticket.
The crash occurred on the same day that the City Council and Adams administration have allowed the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program — which provided a safety course for drivers with 15 camera-issued speeding tickets in a year — to expire. There is no replacement for the program, created by then-Council Member Brad Lander, who called today for it to be reauthorized and strengthened.
Mayor Adams is aware of the crash, reporters at an unrelated event said.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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