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Boy, 12, Dead After Being Hit By Livery Cab In Hamilton Heights

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 12-year-old boy is dead after being struck by a livery cab near a school in Hamilton Heights Wednesday afternoon.

As CBS2's Joe Biermann reported, the boy was struck around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the southbound lanes of Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard near 149th Street.

The livery cab driver struck the boy -- identified as Ervi Secundino -- in the middle of the road as he crossed the street, police said. Ervi was rushed to Harlem Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Phillis Miles told 1010 WINS' Holli Haerr she saw the boy get hit in the intersection.

"He didn't have the light, he just ran right across the street and that's when the car just hit him. He flew up and landed on the car. That's how the car is dented," she said.

Boy, 12, Dead After Being Hit By Livery Cab In Hamilton Heights

Authorities said Ervi suffered severe head and body trauma.

Miles said the cab appeared to be speeding at the time.

"The car came zooming and hit him," she said.

The driver remained on the scene, and was taken away by NYPD officers.

The NYPD Accident Investigation Squad was on the scene as of 5 p.m. trying to determine exactly how the accident happened.

As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, police were driving the car involved in the accident and conducting brake tests at the scene Wednesday evening, driving down the road at a high rate of speed and slamming on the brakes.

The accident happened steps from Frederick Douglass Academy, where Ervi was a student.

Following Secundino's death, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña released a statement saying she is "heartbroken by this tragedy."

"Ervi's family is in my thoughts as they mourn the unbearable loss of a child so young. I also want to extend my deepest condolences to the entire Frederick Douglas Academy community," Fariña said in a statement. "We'll be providing additional guidance counselors and ongoing support for as long as the school community needs."

So far, no charges or tickets have been issued in the incident.

On Wednesday night, people in the neighborhood were calling on the city to improve safety on the busy street.

"I feel that if they had a speed bump or traffic enforcement agent, not a crossing guard, people would slow down," one man said.

Friends of the family said the boy lived with his mother and other siblings near 145th Street, a few blocks away from where the accident happened.

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