NYPD: 2 Pedestrians Killed In Brooklyn Hit-And-Run
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are searching for a driver who they said struck and killed two pedestrians in Brooklyn and then fled the scene.
It happened just after midnight Monday near the intersection of Fulton and Chestnut streets in Cypress Hills.
Police said an Acura TL sedan was speeding eastbound on Fulton Street when it lost control, hitting 41-year-old Delman Maldonado and 56-year-old Israel Turcios after slamming into two parked cars.
Surveillance video shows the moment the two men were hit. The driver then abandoned the car and fled on foot, police said.
As CBS2's Emily Smith reported, it only took a second to destroy two families who will never be the same.
Video showed the two men walking down the street when they were suddenly hit and killed by a silver vehicle with an out-of-control driver behind the wheel.
Maldonado was pronounced dead at the scene. Turcios was taken to the hospital, where he was also pronounced dead.
Monday morning, Turcios's devastated son, Frank, returned to the corner where his father was killed. He described his dad as a happy man from Honduras who now leaves behind three children and seven grandchildren.
"My dad was one of a kind," he said.
Friends said the two men had just left a nearby bar owned by Turcios' brother.
"He would pay any price to see everyone happy," friend Javier Rodriquez said. "He always liked to have fun, he would spend every dollar in his pocket just to make everybody happy."
Milli Muniz had been with Maldonado since 2003. They two shared a home and raised a 12-year-old son together. Muniz went to the scene of the crime to identify Maldonado, she said it's now the challenge of her life to accept that he's gone.
"He was a good, best friend I know he was, and I'm hoping he didn't feel anything when this happened," she said, "They say you go to a better place, but you never truly believe that. But I have to believe that. I miss him and I wish he was coming home."
Now, neighbors are hoping the driver is arrested soon.
"They just don't care, they just don't care about anybody but soon enough I know they should get caught," one resident said. "They have cameras around here. "
Police have put up a sign at the intersection asking for help in finding the driver. They said speed played a factor in the crash. Anyone with information has been asked to call the police.
The investigation is ongoing.
