Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Carnage

Unlicensed Driver Pleads Guilty in Brooklyn Hit-and-Run Death

NYPD has a get-out-of-jail-free card for drivers of large trucks who strike and kill people. Image: News 12

A motorist who killed a man in Brooklyn has pled guilty to leaving the scene and driving without a valid license.

Brian Young struck 28-year-old Francis Perez as Perez crossed Avenue V in Sheepshead Bay on the night of September 23, 2016.

Perez
Perez
Perez

Perez had just walked out of a store with snacks for his 8-year-old son when Young rammed him with a Toyota SUV and kept driving.

“The guy flew in the air, and then the [driver]… stopped at that corner and just drove off,” a witness told the Daily News.

Prosecutors charged Young, then 47, with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and third degree aggravated unlicensed operation. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office declined to charge Young for the act of killing Perez.

Under state law the penalty for hit-and-run can be less severe than the penalty for a drunk driver who injures or kills someone and remains at the scene, a statutory flaw Albany legislators have for years failed to fix.

Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a class D felony with penalties ranging from probation to seven years in prison. Third degree aggravated unlicensed operation is a low-level misdemeanor. Young pled guilty to both charges Wednesday, according to court records.

Young is scheduled to be sentenced in May.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Beach Reading: Zohran Mamdani’s Answers to Streetsblog’s Mayoral Candidate Survey

Spend the holiday weekend with Zohran Mamdani's answers to Streetsblog's mayoral candidate questionnaire.

July 4, 2025

Friday Video: Why NYC Needs ‘Low-Traffic Neighborhoods’

London's Church Street, like so many of our business corridors, was choking on cars — until the advent of the low-traffic neighborhood.

July 4, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: E-Bikes in Parks … Permanently Edition

The Parks Department will permanently allow e-bikes in city parks following a two-year pilot. Plus more news.

July 4, 2025

Anti-Miracle On 34th Street: Adams Administration Pauses Work On 34th Street Busway

The highly-anticipated 34th Street busway may not happen under Mayor Adams after all, sources said.

July 3, 2025

Manhattan DA Says Alleged Central Park Hit-and-Run Cyclist Didn’t Flee, Drops Charges

Prosecutors said the 30-year-old cyclist "remained on the scene for about 45 minutes after the crash and waited for paramedics to arrive to treat the injured person."

Sean Duffy’s ‘Great America Road Trip’ Wants You to Drive to Central Park

Sean Duffy's "Great American Road Trip" encourages Americans to drive to sites in the most transit-rich and car-choked parts of the country.

July 3, 2025
See all posts