4-Year-Old Dead, 6-Year-Old Injured After Being Hit By Van At Brooklyn Yeshiva
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There was a tragedy in Brooklyn on Monday after a vehicle dropping off kids at school apparently hit two of them, killing one.
The two boys were being dropped off at Yeshiva Ketana on 67th Street in Bensonhurst when they were hit. The driver left and police sources told CBS2's Alice Gainer he apparently didn't know he had struck them.
A view from Chopper 2 and from the ground shows investigators working to piece together what happened at around 9:15 a.m. after the vehicle hit the two kids and took off.
It wasn't just a car passing through, though. Police said the two boys, ages 4 and 6, were struck by the very vehicle dropping them off at school. Police sources said it was a privately operated blue-colored multi-passenger van transporting kids door to door to the school.
The 4-year-old died, while the 6-year-old is in serious condition at Maimonides Medical Center.
"It's terrible. I heard it ... I saw it on my phone this morning," one person said. "It's a tragedy."person said.
Police said surveillance video shows the boys get in front of the vehicle somehow, instead of being on the sidewalk.
The 76-year-old driver left, apparently not knowing he had hit them. That driver eventually returned and was questioned by police, and the vehicle was examined for mechanical defects. The driver was not charged, as it appears the incident was just an accident.
"This is sad news and we need to do better. We need safer streets and we need drivers to pay attention," said Fabiola Mendieta, a member of the group "Family for Safe Streets." "We need to tell the drivers, like drive around like it's your own kid. Like it's your own child."
A funeral for the 4-year-old was held Monday night on Staten Island.
"It's a tragedy for the parents, it's a tragedy for the community, and it's a tragedy for our schools which the father studies at," Rabbi Shloma Eidelman said.
Though there were no charges filed against the driver, police said the investigation is ongoing.
The yeshiva did not return CBS2's calls seeking comment.
More From CBS New York:
