Advertisement

Witness Says NYPD Tow Truck Driver That Killed Seven-Year-Old Was Speeding, Using Cell Phone

Lawrence Hodge
·2 min read
Image: Sergio Torres Parra (Shutterstock)
Image: Sergio Torres Parra (Shutterstock)

Tragedy struck in New York City as one of the NYPD’s own vehicle’s hit and killed a seven-year old boy while he was crossing the street Thursday morning.

New York’s PIX 11 reports that the child was riding a scooter while crossing the street with his mother around 8 a.m. They were near the intersection of Myrtle and North Portland avenues in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. An NYPD tow truck on its way to the yard with a vehicle in tow made a right turn onto North Portland when the truck hit the child.

Read more

A member of the City Council released a statement calling out the NYPD for negligence. Councilwoman Crystal Hudson said that the NYPD had “a lack of discipline and care in the field” before mentioning another person being killed by a van belonging to the department in 2022.

The boy’s death at the hands of a police tow truck comes amid an increase in traffic deaths in the city. From the Times:

The boy was the 73rd pedestrian killed in a traffic collision this year, according to Transportation Alternatives, a safe-streets group. That is slightly fewer deaths than had occurred last year by this time, when 78 pedestrians had been killed, the group said.

Residents in the area say people routinely speed on local streets. Some said that it was just a matter of time before something like this happened. Others, like local parent Thea Grant, have wondered where the crossing guards in the area have gone with schools in the area. “That is so dangerous. People just go really fast down Myrtle and they’re not seeing kids. They’re just not expecting it.”

More from Jalopnik

Sign up for Jalopnik's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.