7-Year-Old Boy Dies After Being Struck by NYPD Tow Truck in Brooklyn While Walking with Mom

Authorities said the incident happened in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, New York

A 7-year-old boy was fatally struck by a New York City Police Department (N.Y.P.D.) tow truck in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, New York, Thursday morning, authorities said.

According to NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey at a press conference at 1 Police Plaza, an NYPD tow truck was traveling westbound on Myrtle Avenue. He added that when it arrived at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and North Portland Avenue, the tow truck attempted to make a right-hand turn.

Simultaneously, Maddrey said, a young mother and her 7-year-old son were walking on a sidewalk of Myrtle Avenue at the intersection of North Portland Avenue attempting to cross the street.

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“As our department tow truck made the right-hand turn and started to pass the crosswalk, the young child, who was walking with his mother, was struck.," Maddrey explained. "The child went down, the tow truck driver stopped immediately. EMS arrived at the scene and immediately pronounced the child DOA on the scene.”

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Maddrey said that the incident is an active investigation and a collision investigation squad is at the scene.

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“My heart goes out to the family of that young boy and his mother, his school, his teachers who were also on the scene,” he said. “Very tough scene to be at this morning."

The NYPD further confirmed to PEOPLE that the tow truck driver, a 54-year-old woman, stayed at the scene.

Mary Lynne Werlwas, a resident of the neighborhood, heard the commotion and saw a crowd gathering a woman sitting on the street next to a figure draped in a white sheet and saying “My baby is dead,” The New York Times reported. Werlwas further told the paper,  “The community, everybody is very upset.”

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Details are limited since it is a new investigation, said Maddrey.

Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit advocacy organization, reacted to the incident on X (formerly Twitter): “We are furious to hear that the driver of an NYPD tow truck struck and killed a 7-year-old boy. No parent should have to bury their child and this devastating crash robbed this boy of the future he deserved."

“Nine children have been killed in traffic violence this year," the organization added.

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