Park Slope Hit-and-Run: Local Business Owner Crushed by His Own Stolen Truck

Phil DelleGrazie's business in South Slope. Image via Google Maps

By SIMONE WILSON and JOHN V. SANTORE

SOUTH SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Local business owner and ironworker Phil DelleGrazie, a 63-year-old Bensonhurst resident, was crushed to death by his own truck Monday when he tried to chase down the thief who stole it, according to the NYPD.

DelleGrazie was standing next to his flatbed truck outside his business — A & D Iron Works at 305 24th St. in South Slope — when a yet-to-be unidentified male suspect jumped into the vehicle and drove off, police said.

The 63-year-old theft victim followed the suspect in a second vehicle, police said, and eventually approached his stolen truck on foot outside 709 4th Ave.

At that point, DelleGrazie fell to the ground and was hit by the truck, police said.

The suspect drove off, ditched the flatbed on 22nd Street between 5th and 4th avenues and finally escaped on foot, according to detectives.

A search for the man who killed DelleGrazie was ongoing as of late Monday afternoon. Anyone with information on the the case can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

One of DelleGrazie's employees told DNAinfo that the victim had owned A & D Ironworks for 45 years. Another said: "I worked for him for 10 years. He was a good guy. I love him. I miss him already."

And Troy Tecau, a 70-year-old man who witnessed DelleGrazie's awful death Monday, said in an interview with the local news site: "The victim flipped up in the air about 8 feet. He hit the ground hard. The [driver] took off. He took the truck up 22nd Street the wrong way. People were diving out of the way."