Police have charged the dump truck driver who mowed down a beloved crossing guard moments after she guided a group of people, including a woman pushing a baby stroller, across a heavily traveled Queens intersection, NYPD officials said Saturday.
Hector Yepes, 39, is facing failure to yield and failure to exercise due care charges for killing Krystyna Naprawa at the corner of Woodhaven Blvd. and Atlantic Ave. about 8 a.m. Friday.
Yepes, a driver for Manolos Trucking LLC in Belleville N.J., waited for the green light on Woodhaven Blvd. before striking Naprawa as he turned onto Atlantic Ave.
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
The driver, Hector Yepes, pictured here at the scene, is facing failure to yield and failure to exercise due care charges.
Naprawa was still in the crosswalk, a few steps from the corner, when she was knocked down and run over, horrified witnesses told police. Officials said Naprawa had waited until the walk sign flashed on the traffic light, but it wasn’t enough to keep the truck from mowing her down.
Naprawa, 63, died at the scene.
“School Crossing Guard Krystyna Naprawa, who had served with the New York City Police Department for nearly 13 years, dedicated her life to protecting the most vulnerable among us,” Police Commissioner Edward Caban said in a statement.
“Every school day, parents in the 102nd Precinct put their children’s lives in SCG Naprawa’s hands and every day, she was there to keep them safe,” he added. “This morning was no different, and SCG Naprawa’s loss is a tragic reminder of the very real dangers our school crossing guards face in the performance of their duty.”
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
Krystyna Naprawa, a school crossing guard, was in the crosswalk at the corner of Woodhaven Blvd. and Atlantic Ave. in Woodhaven at 8:05 a.m. when a dump truck for Manolos Trucking LLC in Belleville N.J. rammed into her as it made a right turn onto Atlantic Ave.
Naprawa came to the U.S. from Poland four decades ago and was a fixture at the busy intersection for at least five years, neighbors and nearby store owners said. She’s been employed as a crossing guard since 2010.
Failure to yield and exercise due care are misdemeanor crimes punishible by stiff fines or 15 days in jail, according to the penal law.
Yepes, who lives in Newark, N.J., was released after receiving a desk appearance ticket. He’s expected to answer the charges in court on Nov. 9.
Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37, the union in which Naprawa was a member, called her death a “devastating loss.”
She was the third crossing guard to be hit by a vehicle in the last few months, Garrido said.
Earlier this school year, a crossing guard at a Queens Catholic school was hospitalized after being hit while working, according to Garrido. Another guard was struck in the Bronx and is still recovering, he said.
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