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

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.

Paramedics arrived on scene and sadly the boy was pronounced dead at the scene. The New York Times reports that a woman living in the neighborhood witnessed the whole incident when she went to move her car.

Mary Lynne Werlwas, who has lived in the neighborhood for 24 years, said she had gone to move her car on Thursday morning when she heard a commotion at the crosswalk. A large crowd surrounded a woman sitting in the middle of the street next to a figure covered in a white sheet. The woman was distraught, Ms. Werlwas said, saying, “My baby is dead.”

Another witness to the accident claims that the tow truck driver was “trying to beat a yellow light” when they hit the boy. The driver of the truck remained at the scene and is under an investigation. A report from Fox 5 says a witness saw the driver speeding and on her cell phone at the time of the crash.

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.”