The driver of the NYPD tow truck that struck and killed a 7-year-old boy in a Brooklyn intersection was arrested and charged in his death, police said.
NYPD Traffic Enforcement Agent Stephanie Sharp was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care following the Thursday morning incident that took the life of little Kamei Hughes, who was on his way to school with his mother when he was struck in the crosswalk, according to police.
The incident occurred just before 8 a.m. at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and North Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, just above Fort Greene Park. Sharp, 54, was behind the wheel of the tow truck that was turning right onto North Portland Avenue, when Kamei was struck while riding a lime green scooter and trying to cross the street, police and witnesses said.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The mother is screaming hysterically, 'They killed my baby, they killed my baby,'" said witness Antoine Hayes. "The mother had another baby in a stroller walking in between my car and a Lexus. They were going that way. The tow truck driver hits the little boy. You hear the boom. She keeps going. Someone went to stop her.”
Sharp was flagged down by witnesses a block away from the scene, and stayed there as police conducted their investigation.
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An investigation into the deadly crash is ongoing. Detectives are looking for surveillance video to see how fast the driver was going, whether she had a green light, and if she was on the phone or otherwise distracted.
