A man walking a Brooklyn crosswalk early Thursday morning was mowed down by a high-speed driver caught on video blowing a red light and sending the man flying to his death.
Police said the driver is still being sought after running down Felix Mendez, a 49-year-old Brooklyn man trying to walk the crosswalk around 3 a.m. at the intersection of Bedford and Lafayette avenues in Bed-Stuy.
Surveillance video capturing the deadly incident is difficult to watch (the above video pauses before the moment of impact). It shows Mendez start to cross the street when he has the walk sign, then a light-colored SUV comes into the frame at a high rate of speed.
The driver barrels into the intersection while the light is still red and sends the man flying. According to the video, the man lands on the hood of the car on the other side of the intersection before being tossed down to the ground. The driver continues down the road.
Police said Mendez suffered trauma to his head and body. Medics responded to the scene and transported him to a nearby hospital, but he did not survive his injuries.
"To hear something like that, it’s just totally horrible," Paul Johnson said.
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Bed-Stuy neighbors like Johnson, who lives steps away, woke up to the news.
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"Hopefully the cameras will catch them, that the cameras got a license plate or something there so this person can be held accountable for their actions," Johnson added.
As of Friday evening, police had not announced any arrests or released details about a possible suspect description.
The department's online database shows that pedestrian deaths are up this year. Deaths from the start of the year until now (Oct. 6) are up to 84, that's well above last year's number of 70.
