A 7-year-old boy crossing a Brooklyn street with his mom on the way to school was fatally hit by an NYPD tow truck driver on Thursday morning, according to cops.
Emergency responders arrived and reported that the boy died at the scene at around 7:50 a.m.
NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said the truck driver, 54, was making a legal right turn onto North Portland Avenue in Fort Greene while carrying a car when she ran into the child. She was not handed any immediate charges.
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“It was a very tough scene to be at this morning,” he said.
Tyrana Carter, a witness, told The New York Times that the boy was riding a green scooter next to his mom, who was pushing another child in a stroller. Carter said the driver was trying to drive through a yellow light.
Antwoan Hayes, who said he was in a nearby store and that he saw the incident, told the paper that the mother chased the truck down the street, yelling at the driver.
The mother was devastated and was saying, “My baby is dead,” another witness, Mary Lynne Werlwas, told the Times.
NBC New York reported that the driver was stopped by witnesses a block away from the crash.
According to Transportation Alternatives, a group that advocates for safe streets, said the child was the 73rd pedestrian killed in a traffic collision this year.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
