A 4-year-old boy was fighting for his life after police say he was struck by what they believed to be a dirtbike in the parking lot of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Little Jonathan Beauchamps was spending time with his father and siblings when he was struck by the vehicle. The NYPD says the dirtbike didn't stop after hitting the child around 6 p.m. Sunday. Beauchamps sustained serious head trauma and was transported to Cohen Children's Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, according to authorities who are now searching for the two-wheel vehicle involved.
It was a busy day at the park and witnesses said they didn't realize something was wrong.
"It was so much commotion going on that we didn't even realize somebody got hit until the ambulance and everybody came," one witness told NBC New York.
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Others said that dirtbikes are a regular menace in the park, as well as throughout the city. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the NYPD is making progress, but is asking for the public's help too.
"We need community members to help us find where they're being kept so we can get them, seize them. If one's out there, it's immediately illegal," de Blasio said. "It's just not allowed in New York City, and we will destroy them, literally, and send a message to people."
No other information was immediately available and no arrests have been made.
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An investigation is ongoing, police said.
