A 4-year-old boy was badly injured after a driver struck him in Brooklyn late Saturday evening, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
The driver was heading westbound on Parkside Avenue in a Toyota Rav 4 when he struck the boy at Ocean Avenue just before 9 p.m. Saturday.
Officers found the child injured at the intersection, which is just outside of the southeast corner of Prospect Park in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, in response to 911 calls.
He was taken to Kings County Hospital in serious condition, but was later transferred to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, the spokesperson said.
The 50-year-old driver remained at the scene of the crash and has not been charged. According to the preliminary investigation, the boy was in the middle of the intersection when he was struck, but the spokesperson had no additional information. The police investigation continues.
A couple of hours after the boy was hit, a man in the Bronx was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver on Saturday night.
Police officers found the man with head and body trauma, unconscious on the service road of Bruckner Boulevard at East 140th Street about 10:50 p.m. Saturday, according to a release from the NYPD. EMS pronounced him dead at the scene.
The injuries appeared to be from being struck by a vehicle. The driver did not stay at the scene, police have not released the identity of the man who died. The investigation is ongoing.
NYC just ended 2020 with at least 243 traffic deaths—the deadliest year since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in 2014. The administration has blamed an increase in drivers and a surge in speeding.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, de Blasio said the city must "crack down" on speeding in 2021 by working with Albany on speed camera legislation. He said the city has a "very aggressive agenda" to meet Vision Zero goals, which is to have zero traffic deaths by 2024. He said details of that plan would be forthcoming.
