4-Year-Old Boy Dies In NYC Scooter Crash, Dad Charged: NYPD

NEW YORK CITY — A 4-year-old boy died Sunday after his father took him on a scooter without a helmet and crashed in The Bronx, police said.

The boy's father — Mario Rosario, 24 — faces a child endangerment charge following the fatal collision along Bailey Avenue, NYPD officials said.

The crash unfolded about 9:20 when Rosario took his 4-year-old son — who is also named Mario Rosario — for a ride on a two-wheeled motorized scooter, authorities said.

The father and son rode south on Bailey Avenue when they struck a Toyota sedan driven by William Baez, 52, who was making a turn onto 193th Street, police said.

After the collision with the car, their scooter struck a curb and flung both Rosarios to the ground, authorities said.

The younger Rosario, who didn't wear a helmet, suffered severe head trauma in the crash, police said. Medics rushed him to Saint Barnabas Hospital, where doctors pronounced him deceased, authorities said.

Police arrested the elder Rosario not only on a child endangerment charge, but also one count of criminal possession of stolen property, authorities said.

Baez was also arrested on a charge of aggravated unlicensed driving, police said.