A 7-year-old boy was killed in Brooklyn on Thursday morning when a tow truck belonging to the New York Police Department hit him while he was crossing the street, the police said.
The collision occurred on the northern border of Fort Greene Park about 7:45 a.m., when the boy and his mother were in the crosswalk on Myrtle Avenue, the police said. The tow truck’s driver tried to make a right turn onto North Portland Avenue and struck the boy. Emergency medical workers arrived and pronounced the boy dead.
The driver of the tow truck, a 54-year-old woman, remained at the scene, the police said, and the investigation was continuing.
Tyrana Carter, who witnessed the collision, said the boy was riding a bright green scooter as he crossed the street. The driver of the tow truck, Ms. Carter said, appeared to be trying to beat a yellow light when she hit the boy.
“When she came around the corner, she hit the kid and she rolled over him,” said Ms. Carter, noting that many children, including the victim, were on their way to school.
Mary Lynne Werlwas, who has lived in the neighborhood for 24 years, went 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.”
“The community, everybody is very upset,” Ms. Werlwas said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
