New York

3-Year-Old in Critical Condition After Being Struck by Minivan in Brooklyn: Police

Witnesses say the little boy jumped off the sidewalk and darted into the road

What to Know

  • A 3-year-old child is in critical condition after being struck by a minivan in Brooklyn, the NYPD said
  • Witnesses say the boy jumped off the sidewalk and darted into the road, right in front of the minivan
  • The driver stayed on the scene; it's not clear if she'll face charges but police say no criminality is currently suspected

A 3-year-old child is in critical condition after being struck by a car in Brooklyn, the NYPD said.

Witnesses say the little boy jumped off the sidewalk and darted into the road near 13th Avenue and 44th Street in Borough Park around 2 p.m. Wednesday, right into the front of a minivan.

"He wasn't moving. He wasn't moving, he was just on the floor," said Juan Guinea of Borough Park. 

Guinea said the driver, a young woman, came out of the minivan screaming. 

"It was just a disaster." 

A Hatzalah ambulance took the child to Maimonides Medical Center with severe head trauma, and the 20-year-old driver of the car remained at the scene, police said.

The driver's mother told News 4 New York at the scene that her daughter, who only has a permit, was stopped at a red light and started to go when the light turned green.

That's when the boy, who was accompanied by an adult, jumped in front of the car, and the adult couldn't hold the boy back in time, according to the driver's mother.

The woman behind the wheel has been driving since she was 16, but this was her first time driving by herself without a permit on her, according to the driver's mother. 

Police said the driver was not arrested, but was issued a summons for unlicensed operation of a vehicle. The investigation is ongoing.  

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