What to Know
- A young child was struck and killed by a school bus driver in Brooklyn who fled the scene Wednesday, law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said.
- According to the NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad, at around 8:28 a.m. a full-size yellow school bus picked up a 9-year-old boy on South Fifth Street, when a second 6-year-old boy ran across the street and was struck by the bus as it drove away.
- Police said an MTA driver called 911 after spotting the body of the child on the street a few minutes later. Police say that the child who was picked up by the school bus and the one who was tragically struck and killed were brothers.
A young child was struck and killed by a school bus driver in Brooklyn who fled the scene Wednesday, law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said.
According to the NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad, at around 8:28 a.m. a full-size yellow school bus picked up a 9-year-old boy on South Fifth Street in Williamsburg, when a second 6-year-old boy runs across the street to board, but was struck by the bus as it drove away.
Police say that, a few minutes later, an MTA driver called 911 after spotting the body of the child on the street. The young victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Police stopped the bus driver a few blocks away.
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The child who was picked up by the school bus and the one who was tragically struck and killed were brothers, according to police. The child who died was later identified as Shimon Fried.
NBC 4 New York obtained images of the school bus allegedly involved as investigators searched it for evidence. Based on their preliminary investigation, police believe the bus driver did not know they struck the child, and the investigation is ongoing.
The bus driver was interviewed by detectives, and there was no word on if any charges had been or would be filed. Investigators were reconstructing the incident to see if there's was any culpability.
“This is a tragedy for all involved and our hearts go out to the child’s family as well as to our colleague driving the B60 bus that came upon the scene and first discovered the horrible aftermath," Craig Cipriano, president, MTA Bus Company, said in a statement. "We are fully cooperating with the NYPD investigation and providing all possible support to the bus operator as she recovers from trauma."
Local
"It's probably the single toughest part of the job, is to go knock on someone's door that has no idea you're coming and explain to them that their loved one was just struck and killed by a motor vehicle," said NYPD Sergeant Robert Denig. "It's always heartbreaking and yes, when it's a child it's that much more heartbreaking. It's devastating."
Neighbors set up a small memorial on South Fifth Street and Hooper Street in the aftermath of the tragic accident.
"We live right across from the accident. It was really hard to see it was a little boy," said Cecilia Perez, who helped set up the tribute to the child. "Even though we don't know each other, we are still a community here. I just wanted to do something for him."
