Boy, 5, Among Three NYC Pedestrians Killed by Drivers This Weekend

2:32 PM EDT on August 12, 2013

Three New York City pedestrians, including a young child, were killed by motorists over the weekend. Two of the crashes were hit-and-runs.

Kyrillos Gendy was killed, and his mother and sister were injured, by a hit-and-run driver in Staten Island. A suspect was charged with leaving the scene of the crash, but not for killing Kyrillos or hurting his mom and sister, and was freed on bail.

At around 8:25 p.m. Friday, Kyrillos Gendy, 5, his mother and sister were struck by a hit-and-run driver in a Mercedes-Benz sedan in Dongan Hills. From the Times:

Just before he hit the family, at 8:25 p.m., the police said, the driver turned left out of the parking lot of the Diddle Dee Dairy and Deli at 1334 Richmond Road.
“Eyewitnesses say he did stop first, looked both ways,” Mr. [Adam] Gendy said, “and then hit all three of them in one shot.”

Kyrillos was killed. His sister, Gabriella, 7, and their mother, 35-year-old Erieny Thomas, were hospitalized and later released, reports said. On Saturday, John Sanjurjo, 33, accompanied by a lawyer, turned himself in to police, according to reports. From the Daily News:

Sanjurjo’s 2013 Mercedes-Benz 350 matched the vehicle description, including dents in the hood from the impact, a law enforcement source said.
The force of the impact sent Kyrillos flying through the air.
Bits of scattered food that Kyrillos’ family was carrying were found on the car, the source said.

According to reports and online court records, Sanjurjo was charged with one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury. He is free on $50,000 bond. Kyrillos' funeral was held Sunday.

The crash that killed Kyrillos Gendy and injured his mother and sister occurred in the 122nd Precinct, in the City Council district represented by James Oddo.

An unidentified male pedestrian was hit by a motorcyclist at Queens Boulevard and 44th Street at approximately 3:30 a.m. Sunday. The Daily News reports that the pedestrian, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the motorcyclist was hospitalized in critical condition.

Unnamed sources told the Daily News the pedestrian was crossing against the light and "the motorcyclist is not considered at fault." Though there is no indication that the victim was using an electronic device (which is not against the law while walking), WCBS quoted a local resident who said pedestrians shouldn't use cellphones.

Sunday morning's fatal crash occurred in the 108th Precinct, in the City Council district represented by Jimmy Van Bramer.

At around 2:00 this morning, 25-year-old Manuel Campoverde was hit by a man driving a black four-door sedan at Junction Boulevard and 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, reports said. The motorist did not stop. Campoverde was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital.

This morning's fatal crash occurred in the 115th Precinct, in the City Council district represented by Julissa Ferreras.

At least 13 NYC pedestrians and cyclists have been killed by hit-and-run drivers in 2013, according to crash data compiled by Streetsblog.

Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.

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