Locals 'Furious' After NYPD Tow Truck Kills Child In Brooklyn

FORT GREENE, NY — Locals and electeds were "furious" after a police vehicle fatally struck a 7-year-old pedestrian Thursday morning in Fort Greene — a tragedy advocates said was "preventable."

An NYPD tow truck was traveling westbound on Myrtle Avenue about 7:52 a.m. when it attempted to make a right turn onto North Portland Avenue, striking the 7-year-old, according to the NYPD.

The child was crossing the street with his young mother, according to Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey.

The child was pronounced dead on the scene as his mother screamed, according to the FDNY and Streetsblog. The tow truck driver remained on the scene and the NYPD continued to investigate Thursday.

Maddrey said some of the child's teachers were also on the scene. A representative of New York City Public Schools said the department would help support the child's school "as the community grieves."

"Very tough scene to be at be at this morning," Maddrey said.

Thursday's crash marks the fourth injurious collision at the Fort Greene intersection this year, according to NYC Crash Mapper.

Frustrated locals told Streetsblog that tow trucks come through the area a lot. Some 29 pedestrians have been injured in Fort Greene crashes so far this year.

"We are furious to hear that the driver of an NYPD tow truck struck and killed a 7-year-old boy," said street safety advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. "No parent should have to bury their child and this devastating crash robbed this boy of the future he deserved."

Not far from Thursday's crash, a wrong-way driver in 2021 fatally struck a 3-month-old near Vanderbilt and Gates avenues.

"Every single crash is preventable," organizers with Transportation Alternatives said.

Hudson on Thursday said such NYPD behavior is "all too familiar."

"As New Yorkers, we are all too familiar with the NYPD's lack of discipline and care in the field, including frequent reckless driving incidents," Hudson said in a tweet. "This is the worst possible outcome, and, yet, we are forced to reckon with it all too often."

Hudson reminded residents of the 2022 death of Ronald Anthony Smith after an NYPD vehicle fatally struck and dragged the man's body. The driver was not expected to face charges, New York Attorney General Letitia James' office said.

A report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found that the city had spent $653.9 million over the last decade settling cases over city-owned vehicle crashes.

And NYPD drivers were some of the worst offenders; 67 percent of crash settlements from 2012 and 2021 worth over $1 million between involved police and Department of Sanitation vehicles, according to the report.