Bed-Stuy Teen Driving On Drugs Hits And Kills Pedestrian: Cops

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — An 18-year-old from Bed-Stuy has been arrested after police say he hit and killed a pedestrian while driving on drugs early Thursday.

Tyler Patrick, from Decatur Street, was charged Thursday with vehicular manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs, according to police.

His arrest came just hours after Patrick hit 33-year-old Luis Jr. Celestino Mendez on Bushwick Avenue near Meserole Street, according to police. Mendez was taken to Woodhull Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said Patrick was driving a Chevrolet Camaro north on the road when he hit Mendez, who was trying to cross the street mid-block. Patrick was not injured and stayed on the scene after the crash, police said.

Mendez was from California, records show.

His death comes in a record-breaking yearfor traffic deaths in New York City, particularly in Brooklyn.

Late last month, four people were killed in a single weekend on Brooklyn's streets. Through September, there were 63 fatalities recorded in Brooklyn, according to a Transportation Alternatives study.