Teen Struck, Critically Injured In Gravesend, Brooklyn Hit-And-Run
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A young man was in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in a hit-and-run in Gravesend, Brooklyn Sunday afternoon.
Around 3:10 p.m., the 18-year-old man was crossing the street in the crosswalk at Avenue T and West 10th Street in Brooklyn when he was struck by a white BMW sport-utility vehicle, police said.
The driver of the SUV was turning left from southbound West 10th onto eastbound Avenue T, police said.
As CBS2's Reena Roy reported, surveillance video shows the car hitting the victim. He is going down Avenue T on a skateboard as he slides past the white SUV when it makes the turn, hits him, and knocks him to the ground.
The teen was taken to Maimonides Medical Center with severe head trauma and was in critical condition late Sunday, police said.
The SUV driver fled the scene, police said.
Neighbors said they cannot believe the driver left him there in the street.
"I think it's atrocious – it really is – because it could be me, it could be my dog, could be my wife, could be you," said Harry Hammerstone. "I mean, it's really – it's inhumane to not stop and even check on a person to see if they're OK."
"I just hope, you know, this kid that got hit by this person, I wish the person would come through, God willing, and the kid survives," said Joe Passantino.
Another driver did pull over to help the teen, and several other people walking by also rushed to his side.
"That's what this neighborhood was built on," Hammerstone said. "This neighborhood was built on everybody helped each other out."
Passantino said he was especially heartbroken for the victim and his family. He said he himself was hit by a cabbie years ago who also took off.
"You go through agony and forget it," he said. "AndI know what the family's going through right now, and it's not a good feeling."
Neighbors late Sunday were reminding others to be extra cautious in the residential neighborhood.
"Especially there's a lot of kids around here – and you just want to, you know, be careful," a man said.
The NYPD Crash Investigation Squad was investigating late Sunday.
