A seven-year-old boy was struck and killed by an N.Y.P.D tow truck early on Thursday morning. The collision occurred at 7:45 a.m. in the Fort Green neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY.
The boy and his mother were on the crosswalk on Myrtle Avenue when the tow truck driver attempted to turn right and struck the boy. He was pronounced dead by emergency medical workers who arrived at the scene.
An eyewitness, Tyrana Carter, says the tow truck appeared to be attempting to beat a yellow light when the boy was hit. She says that, after the collision, the truck rolled over the young boy.
The boy was riding his scooter alongside his mother, pushing a stroller with another young child. Witnesses say the devastated mother stood by her son as he was covered by a white blanket, wailing and saying “My baby is dead.”
People living in the neighborhood commented to reporters complaining about the Myrtle Avenue crosswalk; they said that they’d had issues with cars speeding through the area for a long while and unfortunately they had been worried about such an accident occurring. Debra Williamson has lived in the area with her six children for the last decade and said “This is terrifying to me. I knew this was coming, but I don’t know what to do.”
A 54-year-old woman was driving the tow truck, she remained at the scene.
